Current Mental State Research Articles

Semantic fMRI neurofeedback of emotions: from basic principles to clinical applications.

During fMRI neurofeedback participants learn to self-regulate activity in relevant brain areas and networks based on ongoing feedback extracted from measured responses in those regions. This closed-loop approach has been successfully applied to reduce symptoms in mood disorders such as depression by showing participants a thermometer-like display indicating the strength of activity in emotion-related brain areas. The hitherto employed conventional neurofeedback is, however, 'blind' with respect to emotional content, i.e. patients instructed to engage in a specific positive emotion could drive the neurofeedback signal by engaging in a different (positive or negative) emotion. In this future perspective, we present a new form of neurofeedback that displays semantic information of emotions to the participant. Semantic information is extracted online using real-time representational similarity analysis of emotion-specific activity patterns. The extracted semantic information can be provided to participants in a two-dimensional semantic map depicting the current mental state as a point reflecting its distance to pre-measured emotional mental states (e.g. 'happy', 'content', 'sad', 'angry'). This new approach provides transparent feedback during self-regulation training, and it has the potential to enable more specific training effects for future therapeutic applications such as clinical interventions in mood disorders.This article is part of the theme issue 'Neurofeedback: new territories and neurocognitive mechanisms of endogenous neuromodulation'.

The experience of transfeminine adolescents and their parents regarding fertility preservation via testicular sperm extraction (TESE): a qualitative study.

How do transfeminine adolescents and their parents experience fertility preservation via testicular sperm extraction (TESE)? Participants experienced the TESE process positively when provided with appropriate guidance to navigate the decisional dilemma between preserving future biological parenthood and the pressure to start puberty suppression early. Sperm banking through ejaculation is not feasible for all transfeminine adolescents due to genital dysphoria and early puberty; for this group, TESE is the only alternative. However, during early puberty, they must postpone or pause puberty suppression until spermatogenesis is fully developed. All consecutive TESE patients in our centre and their parents were invited to participate. Between December 2022 and May 2023, we included 6 adolescents and 10 parents. We used a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews to study the experience of the transfeminine adolescents and their parents. Transfeminine adolescents diagnosed with gender dysphoria in early puberty (Tanner stage ≥2) who underwent TESE before the start of puberty suppression or gender-affirming hormones participated in this study. The interviews were recorded, manually transcribed and analysed using reflective thematic analysis focusing on understanding the participants' experiences of puberty and fertility preservation and the various factors and social processes influencing their decision to undergo TESE. Transfeminine adolescents decide to undergo invasive fertility preservation because of a possible, future desire for parenthood. Parents stressed the importance of preventing future decisional regret. They both saw masturbation to obtain a semen sample as unreachable. Even though TESE is a surgical procedure with possible complications and pain afterwards, this alternative seemed less dysphoric to them.Adolescents had to postpone the start of puberty suppression, waiting for spermatogenesis to complete. Given the unpredictable development of puberty, they felt a lot of stress and anxiety during this period and were primarily concerned about the lowering of their voice. Because of this puberty-related stress, they were constantly balancing their motivations for fertility preservation against the early start of puberty suppression to prevent unwanted irreversible pubertal body changes. To support this decisional dilemma, adolescents and their parents need adequate communication with each other and their healthcare providers to reflect on their stress for pubertal change. Furthermore, close, continuous surveillance of their current mental state by their parents, together with their psychologist and pubertal development by their physicians, is needed. Despite the challenging decision and postponement of puberty suppression, they retrospectively experienced it positively without any regret. All adolescents successfully underwent TESE, with viable spermatozoa obtained and without complications. This may result in a more positive reflective experience regarding fertility preservation. Furthermore, the perspectives of adolescents with the intention of TESE but who already started with puberty suppression before the preservation were not included. This study helps healthcare providers improve their counselling and guidance of transfeminine adolescents who consider postponing puberty suppression for fertility preservation via TESE. The adolescents and their parents know more clearly what to expect during fertility preservation. Specific peer-support programs may facilitate the decision process for upcoming adolescents. No external funding was used for this study. None of the authors have any conflicts of interest. Not applicable.

The experience sampling methodology as a digital clinical tool for more person-centered mental health care: an implementation research agenda.

This position paper by the international IMMERSE consortium reviews the evidence of a digital mental health solution based on Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM) for advancing person-centered mental health care and outlines a research agenda for implementing innovative digital mental health tools into routine clinical practice. ESM is a structured diary technique recording real-time self-report data about the current mental state using a mobile application. We will review how ESM may contribute to (1) service user engagement and empowerment, (2) self-management and recovery, (3) goal direction in clinical assessment and management of care, and (4) shared decision-making. However, despite the evidence demonstrating the value of ESM-based approaches in enhancing person-centered mental health care, it is hardly integrated into clinical practice. Therefore, we propose a global research agenda for implementing ESM in routine mental health care addressing six key challenges: (1) the motivation and ability of service users to adhere to the ESM monitoring, reporting and feedback, (2) the motivation and competence of clinicians in routine healthcare delivery settings to integrate ESM in the workflow, (3) the technical requirements and (4) governance requirements for integrating these data in the clinical workflow, (5) the financial and competence related resources related to IT-infrastructure and clinician time, and (6) implementation studies that build the evidence-base. While focused on ESM, the research agenda holds broader implications for implementing digital innovations in mental health. This paper calls for a shift in focus from developing new digital interventions to overcoming implementation barriers, essential for achieving a true transformation toward person-centered care in mental health.

ON THE NECESSITY OF CHANGES IN THE MENTALITY OF THE LEADERSHIP AND FUNCTIONARIES OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT BODIES OF TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES OF UKRAINE

Based on the analysis of the results and experience gained in the processes of decentralization of power and reforming the territorial structure of Ukraine, the article concludes that the quality of governance of a number of newly formed territorial communities (TCs) in the difficult conditions of simultaneously confronting the military aggression of the russian federation and the need to implement a set of European integration measures is affected and will be affected in the future by the current mental state of their population and local self-government bodies. It is demonstrated that this state is a consequence of the long-term impact on consciousness and intelligence, knowledge and experience, management and life traditions, mentality and mentality of the population of the ideologemes of the so-called Eastern institutional matrix (communitarianism, rigid centralized management and non-market economy). The European integration intentions of the population and leadership of Ukraine require changes in this state in the direction of achieving and ensuring the ideologemes of the Western institutional matrix (individual freedoms, decentralized governance and market economy). Since the results of the comparative analysis of the values and ideals of the mental attitudes of the population of the EU and Ukraine, with the obvious presence of common priorities of peace, human rights and democracy, demonstrate the advantages of Ukrainians in the pursuit of peace and preservation of human life, but also reflect quite significant differences in the area of non-compliance by Ukrainian citizens with the requirements of respect for other cultures and even the requirements of the implementation of existing laws, this makes it quite obvious that a number of training activities on certain transformational changes should be planned and implemented. To this end, it is necessary to use the existing potential of the current system of training and retraining of current and future personnel of the public administration and management system at all its levels, starting with the basic one – the staff of local self-government bodies of TCs.

Authority as (qualified) indubitability

ABSTRACT Self-ascriptions of one's current mental states often seem authoritative. It is sometimes thought that the authority of such self-ascriptions is, in part, a matter of their indubitability. However, they do not seem to be universally indubitable. How, then, should claims about self-ascriptive indubitability be qualified? Here I consider several such qualifications from the literature. Finding many of them wanting, I nevertheless settle on multiple specifications of the thesis that self-ascriptions are authoritatively indubitable. Some of these specifications concern how other agents ought to treat one's self-ascriptions, while a final specification concerns how one is entitled to respond to others’ doubts about one's self-ascriptions. The result is a pluralistic view of self-ascriptive indubitability: different types of mental state self-ascriptions are indubitable in different ways, and for different people.

Music Recommendation Using Facial Emotion Recognition

It can be very befuddling for people to choose which music to tune in to from a wide run of alternatives accessible. Different proposal frameworks have been made for particular spaces like music, feasting, and shopping, catering to the user's inclinations. Our essential objective is to supply music recommendations that adjust with the user's taste. By analyzing facial expressions and client feelings, ready to pick up experiences into their current mental or enthusiastic state. Music and recordings offer a extraordinary opportunity to show clients with a huge number of choices based on their slants and past data. It is well known that humans make use of facial expressions to express more clearly what they want to say and the context in which they meant their words. More than 60 percent of the users believe that at a certain point of time the number of songs present in their songs library is so large that they are unable to figure out the song which they have to play. By developing a recommendation system, it could assist a user to make a decision regarding which music one should listen to helping the user to reduce his/her stress levels. The user would not have to waste any time in searching or to look up for songs and the best track matching the user’s mood is detected, and songs would be shown to the user according to his/her mood. The image of the user is captured with the help of a webcam. The user’s picture is taken and thenas per the mood/emotion of the user an appropriate song from the playlist of the user is shown matching the user’s requirement.

Situational Factors of Mental States Questionnaire

This article describes the process of creating diagnostic tools aimed at assessing the degree of influence of internal and external factors, as well as key parameters included in them, on the change in a person's mental state. The main stages of the questionnaire creation and modification are described in detail. The main psychometric indicators of the questionnaire are given: results of convergent and constructive validity, assessment of the internal consistency of the questionnaire and reliability. 520 respondents took part in the testing of the questionnaire, mainly students, whose average age was 23 years. At the first stage of the questionnaire, the sample was 105 people, at the second  137, at the third stage  278. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire ‟Situational factors of mental states” make it possible to use it to assess the degree of influence of internal and external factors, key parameters included in them, on the change in the current mental state of a person. The practical guilt lies in the fact that on the basis of the conducted phenomenological research, the author’s questionnaire “Situational factors of medical conditions” was developed, which can complement the objective picture of the study of a person’s biological conditions, his personality characteristics, as well as the level of various factors of the human condition on changes in condition. The results indicate that this questionnaire is a convenient psychodiagnostic tool, does not require long time to fill out, process and has the necessary psychometric characteristics.

Feasibility and Acceptability of a Mobile App for Prolonged Grief Disorder Symptoms.

Mobile apps provide a unique platform for mental health assessment and monitoring. They can provide real time, accessible data on symptoms of mental disorders that may yield rich data for detailed clinical assessment and help individuals gain insight into their current mental state. We developed one of the first apps for tracking symptoms of prolonged grief disorder. In this pilot feasibility study, we assess the feasibility and acceptability of a new mobile app mGAGE for use once a day for 3 weeks. 27 participants completed mental health assessments at t1 and t2. Adherence to the app protocol was very high with 100% for the first two weeks of use. A surprising finding was the improvement of grief symptoms at t2. Debriefing interviews revealed general qualitative categories including positive feedback, negative feedback and specific recommendations. Overall, the app was found to be feasible for use for the first two weeks and acceptable for bereaved individuals. This app could provide valuable data for in depth clinical assessment, may support individuals to gain greater insight into their symptoms and may have a therapeutic effect in terms of improved grief symptoms. Implications for future studies including use in larger intervention studies are discussed.

Development and validation of an 8-item version of the Real Relationship Inventory–Client form

Objective: To develop and validate a very brief version of the 24-item Real Relationship Inventory–Client (RRI-C) form. Method: Two independent samples of individual psychotherapy patients (Nsample 1 = 700, Nsample 2 = 434) completed the RRI-C along with other measures. Psychometric scale shortening involved exploratory factor analysis, item response theory analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and multigroup CFA. Reliability and convergent and discriminant validity of the scale and subscales were also assessed. Results: The 8-item RRI-C (RRI-C-SF) preserves the two-factor structure: Genuineness (k = 4, α = .86) and Realism (k = 4, α = .87), which were correlated at r = .74. CFA provided the following fit indices for the bifactor model: X 2/df = 2.16, CFI = .99, TLI = .96, RMSEA = .07, and SRMR = .03. Multigroup CFA showed that the RRI-C-SF was invariant across in-person and remote session formats. The RRI-C-SF demonstrated high reliability (α = .91); high correlation with the full-length scale (r = .96); and excellent convergent and discriminant validity with measures of other elements of the therapeutic relationship, personality characteristics, current mental health state, and demographic-clinical variables. Clinical change benchmarks were calculated to serve as valuable tools for both research and clinical practice. Conclusion: The RRI-C-SF is a reliable measure that can be used for both research and clinical purposes. It enables a nuanced assessment of the genuineness and the realism dimensions of the real relationship.

CLASSIFICATION OF COGNITIVE STRESS AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL INDICATOR THROUGH MACHINE LEARNING

In this study, we explored the potential of Support Vector Machine (SVM) method for classifying levels of cognitive stress using EEG (Electroencephalogram) signals. The goal is to develop accurate models that would enable the prediction and understanding of not only the current mental state of the subjects, but also potential real-time interventions. In medical fields, the application can be seen in the treatment of attention, focus, hyperactivity, autism, and depression disorders. Additionally, there is an extremely high potential for application in areas such as psychology, sociology, education, economics, neuromarketing, security, and in enhancing workplace stress management, anxiety treatment, digital marketing, economicfinancial forensics, as well as improving user experience in virtual environments and video games. The results have shown that it is possible to differentiate high and low levels of cognitive stress with satisfactory accuracy, opening the way for the application of these findings in various fields. Cognitive stress represents one of the fundamental cognitive processes that causes individuals to behave and think differently in certain situations than in their usual state of consciousness. Predicting, analyzing, and understanding the level of cognitive stress from EEG signals is of great importance in various fields, including neuroscience, psychology, education, professional sports, human-computer interaction, and many other areas. Machine learning represents a subgroup of artificial intelligence that uses statistical models, and functions to ‘learn’ and ‘train’ data resulting in corresponding output values. The brain-computer interface, through which data on cognitive stress, among other parameters and psychological categories, is collected, is based on the functioning of EEG devices. The prediction of cognitive stress represents the application of machine learning, recording and using brain EEG signals or extracted characteristics from EEG signals as input values, in order to predict the level of output values of cognitive stress, of high or low degree, reflecting the mental state of the subjects in real time

Understanding Black and Latino sexual minority men's perspectives on assessment of sexual history in diverse health care settings.

This exploratory analysis aims to understand conditions under which cisgender Black and Latino sexual minority men (SMM) would be willing to share potentially abusive childhood sexual experiences with health care providers. Black and Latino SMM may be overrepresented among childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivors, but some abusive experiences are appraised as consensual due to cultural pressures, leading to underreporting and a delay in identification and treatment. Prior research highlights the importance of screening for sexual abuse histories in primary care and substance use treatment settings, though studies indicate that such assessments rarely occur. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 61 cisgender Black and Latino SMM who reported sexual experiences in childhood that met criteria for CSA. Interviews explored men's experiences with and attitudes toward sexual history taking in diverse health care settings. Most respondents felt that providers should assess sexual history and be aware of prior abuse. Barriers to disclosure included perceived provider bias and insincerity and concerns that provider characteristics (e.g., gender) might limit their ability to understand a client's experiences. Findings suggest that a trauma-informed approach to the assessment of sexual histories should consider that patients' current physical and mental states may be (in)directly linked to earlier, traumatic events and that intersecting identities (e.g., gender and race) could influence men's willingness to share their histories. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Perception of Emotional Marketing Strategies in Shaping Consumer Behaviour

This kind of marketing involves using various techniques to arouse people's emotions and persuade them to buy various goods or services. Emotional advertising is a part of emotional marketing. The vital role that emotive marketing techniques play in influencing consumer behavior. This study explores the complex relationships between customer perceptions and the emotional appeal ingrained in marketing techniques, as firms increasingly understand the significance of emotional linkages in marketing. Emotions play a big role in purchasing decisions. Decisions and choices are influenced by both reasonable and emotional factors in social and professional contexts. This essay explores the relationship between consumer behavior and emotional marketing, as well as the impact that emotions have on customers' dynamic lives. Using a survey, 190 instances of different types of sentiments were randomly collected in order to understand the customers' responses to them. The questions focused on what emotions meant to them in certain situations, what kinds of emotions they experienced often, and how they felt after making a purchase. Based on the evaluation outcomes, it was discovered that emotions have a big role in customer behavior; in addition, it depends on their current mental state and past experiences. Even though it was shown that emotions affect customer behavior, the evidence was entirely emotive since everyone experiences emotions differently based on their daily interactions. Ensuring that every client's emotional requirements are met is almost impossible.

Neuro Receptor Signal Detecting and Monitoring Smart Devices for Biological Changes in Cognitive Health Conditions.

Currently, wearable sensors significantly impact health care through continuous monitoring and event prediction. The types and clinical applications of wearable technology for the prevention of mental illnesses, as well as associated health authority rules, are covered in the current review. The technologies behind wearable ECG monitors, biosensors, electronic skin patches, neural interfaces, retinal prosthesis, and smart contact lenses were discussed. We described how sensors will examine neuronal impulses using verified machine-learning algorithms running in real-time. These sensors will closely monitor body signals and demonstrate continuous sensing with wireless functionality. The wearable applications in the following medical fields were covered in our review: sleep, neurology, mental health, anxiety, depression, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, seizures, and schizophrenia. These mental health conditions can cause serious issues, even death. Inflammation brought on by mental health problems can worsen hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction and interfere with certain neuroregulatory systems such as the neural peptide Y, serotonergic, and cholinergic systems. Severe depressive disorder symptoms are correlated with elevated Interleukin (IL-6) levels. On the basis of previous and present data collected utilizing a variety of sensory modalities, researchers are currently investigating ways to identify or detect the current mental state. This review explores the potential of various mental health monitoring technologies. The types and clinical uses of wearable technology, such as ECG monitors, biosensors, electronic skin patches, brain interfaces, retinal prostheses, and smart contact lenses, were covered in the current review will be beneficial for patients with mental health problems like Alzheimer, epilepsy, dementia. The sensors will closely monitor bodily signals with wireless functionality while using machine learning algorithms to analyse neural impulses in real time.

Socijalna kognicija u bolesnika sa Parkinsonovom bolešću i poremećajima kontrole impulsa

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a slowly progressive degenerative disease characterized by tremors, rigidity, bradykinesia, and postural instability. The pathogenesis of PD is characterized by neurodegeneration of dopaminergic neurons. The prevalence is 1% in the population over 60 years. Chronic use of antiparkinsonian therapy leads to psychomotor and autonomic complications. Impulse Control Disorders (ICDs) are described as the inability of a person to resist an impulse or aspire to a particular behavior that harms that person or their environment and impairs their daily functioning. Social cognition is the ability to make inferences about another person through the perception of their emotions and current mental state. Aim: In the study, social cognition was examined in patients with Parkinson's disease between those with ICD and those without ICD. Material and methods: The study involved 24 patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, of which 13 patients had ICD while 11 patients did not have ICD. Participants were diagnosed and tested at the Clinic of Neurology at the University Clinical Center of Serbia. The used tests are the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) and the Faux-Pas Recognition Test adapted to the Serbian language. Results: By testing the difference between the group of patients with and without ICD, no statistically significant difference was found in terms of age, sex, duration of disease, presence of motor complications, and treatment with levodopa, dopamine agonists, or amantadine. A statistically significant difference was found in the achievements on social cognition tests between patients with PD and healthy controls. Conclusion: A statistically significant difference was found in the achievements on social cognition tests between patients with PD and healthy controls. No statistically significant difference was shown in the achievements on the tests of emotional recognition and tests of the theory of mind between the group of patients who had ICD and those without ICD.

Система Я в ментальной регуляции психических состояний

The study’s theoretical basis was the concepts of the central role of the self-regulatory system in mental regulation of mental states. The mental regulatory system is a structure of relations between characteristics of consciousness: representation, reflection, experiences, semantic structures, mental (subjective) experience, whereas the self-system serves as an integrator in stipulating the regulation of one’s states by the structures of consciousness. The researchers used 24 techniques of diagnostics of mental structures and personality characteristics, as well as an originally developed questionnaires. In their study of mental states and their self-regulation efficiency the authors used as an example students’ various educational activity: classes, workshops, and exams.
 The research revealed that a high level of self-esteem and self-assessment are connected with constructive coping strategies, which contributes to the overall efficiency of the students’ self-regulation of their states. The study revealed the specifics of how the components of the self-system interrelate with reflexive, meaningful structures affecting regulatory processes: students with high self-esteem achieve the maximum self-regulation efficiency if they combine a high level of meaningful-life orientations and retrospective reflection. The authors gained data that a person’s psychological qualities and the self-system are connected: the res­pondents with a high level of self-concept typically have such personality traits as sociabi­lity, emotional stability, expressiveness and effective self-control. The authors found that the correlation between the structures of consciousness, indicators of regulatory processes, and personality traits are different in different situations depending on the stress: in the everyday classroom situation, the indicators of the current mental state and self-regulation efficiency are mostly connected with the self-system components, while at exams the role of the perso­nal self-actualization strengthens.

An Undervalued Diagnosis: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Perinatal Period: A Case Report

BACKGROUND: Perinatal Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that occurs around childbirth, typically after a traumatic birth experience, where women may feel violated due to traumatic childbirth interventions they cannot control. Traumatic birth is defined as an event in which the mother perceives a real or perceived threat to herself or her baby, causing intense fear, helplessness, and horror. This can be considered an obstetric sequel. It is relevant to note that among pregnant women, perinatal PTSD is the third most common psychiatric disorder, with a prevalence ranging from 0.8% to 43% worldwide. Despite its significance, it is little-known, underdiagnosed, and often confused with other conditions such as depression or anxiety. Furthermore, it results in serious family, social, and occupational dysfunctions and is associated with other pathologies. Clinically, women with perinatal PTSD experience symptoms such as re-experiencing the event, detachment from the newborn, nightmares, irritability, and rejection of motherhood. This can lead to consequences for the mother, ranging from a desire not to become pregnant again to severe symptoms such as dissociation, stress, anxiety, and depression. It also affects those close to the mother, such as the partner and family. The aim of this work is to describe perinatal PTSD and emphasize the importance of early identification and appropriate treatment by medical professionals for the benefit of mothers and their children THE CASE: We describe a 35-year-old patient with a history of mixed depressive and anxiety disorder since 2018 experiences perinatal post-traumatic stress disorder. This is related to physical and verbal abuse during her second childbirth, resulting in a traumatic experience. Her childhood was marked by the feeling that her mother favored her younger sister and subjected her to physical and emotional abuse. The first pregnancy was unplanned, and she faced humiliation and abandonment by her partner. Despite the circumstances, the birth was a positive experience. The second pregnancy was planned and desired, but during childbirth in a different clinic from the first, she experienced inadequate care conditions, a lack of privacy, and physical abuse by medical staff. She also received inappropriate comments from the attending gynecologist. During the postpartum period, she shared a room with a cancer patient, complicating her experience. After childbirth, she experienced a hypertensive disorder in the postpartum and chose not to return to the hospital where she gave birth due to her traumatic experiences. Overall, her story reveals a series of challenging experiences related to motherhood that have contributed to her current mental health state. CONCLUSION: Perinatal PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that affects a significant number of pregnant and postpartum women. Its prevalence varies widely, reflecting the need for increased awareness and early detection. Despite its considerable impact on maternal mental health and well-being, perinatal PTSD is often overlooked or confused with other conditions such as depression and anxiety. It's important to raise awareness among medical staff about this disorder and provide a comprehensive and empathetic approach to enhance care for mothers during childbirth and the postpartum period.

Non-interventional epidemiological program for investigating the real-life practice of using quetiapine (Seroquel®) in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder (EPIDEMICUS)

The polymorphism of the clinical manifestations of schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder (BD), late referral to the doctor, comorbidity with somatic diseases and the use of somatotropic medications by psychiatric patients, as well as the frequent development of adverse events (AEs), require constant analysis and improvement of the methods and means of psychopharmacotherapy.Objective: to study the characteristics of the use of quetiapine (Seroquel®) in real outpatient clinical practice.Material and methods. A patient was enrolled in the program if there was a need to prescribe quetiapine (Seroquel®) or to switch from the current therapy to quetiapine. During the program visit, the doctor filled in an individual registration card with information about patient and therapy. The data were statistically analyzed.Results. Quetiapine is prescribed by practicing psychiatrists in Russia not only according to the official indications, but also for psychopathological disorders of other nosology with similar clinical manifestations, such as dementia, organic and affective (depressive episode, recurrent depressive disorder), as well as psychogenic disorders. Up to 27.3% of physicians consider the effect of quetiapine to be quite sufficient in a mixed affective state within the framework of BD dynamics. Quetiapine is used by physicians to treat patients with varying duration of mental disorder (mean 5.1–13.5 years), severity of current mental state (mean CGI-S score 4.3–4.97) and a wide age range (mean age 34.5–60.8 years). When prescribing quetiapine, physicians note that the drug has antidepressant, anxiolytic, sedative and hypnotic effects, regardless of the type of mental disorder. Quetiapine is mainly prescribed as a monotherapy, either primary or resumed after a break – 815 (64.5%) observations. At the same time, quetiapine is used significantly more frequently as monotherapy for BD (69.4%) and mental illnesses of other origin (64.7%) than for schizophrenia (53.8%; p <0.005).Conclusion. In real clinical practice, quetiapine is perceived by psychiatrists as a highly effective and well-tolerated antipsychotic with a broad spectrum of activity that goes beyond the official indications. The practical experience of physicians in Russia shows that in addition to sedative, antipsychotic, antimanic and antidepressant effects, the drug also has antinegative, procognitive, anxiolytic, antiresistant and mood-stabilizing properties.

Survey on the Psychological Impact of Movement Restriction During the Covid-19 Outbreak Among UTHM Pagoh

The outbreak of Covid-19 has impacted many people around the globe with the new norm that people need to adapt, including the Movement Control Order (MCO) that the Malaysian Government imposed. As one of the students in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Pagoh, it is a big responsibility to hold onto to know about the students' mental health state and the psychological impacts of the MCO in Malaysia. The objectives of this study are to investigate students' current mental health state in UTHM Pagoh, identify the psychological impacts that affected the students during the MCO period, and identify the factors that can be perceived as the sources of stress towards students. A survey on the Psychological Impact of Movement Restriction during the Covid-19 Outbreak among UTHM Pagoh students was conducted via an online questionnaire. A cross-sectional, web-based survey was conducted, and the instruments consisted of three sections, i.e., demographics, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and Covid-19 Student Stress Questionnaire (CSSQ). The methodology started by distributing the questionnaire to all the students of UTHM Pagoh. Then, all the data were recorded and analysed by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The results analysed from SPSS software were then concluded and a conclusion was made from the results obtained. Both DASS-21 and CSSQ items played essential roles in the survey questionnaires to achieve the objectives of this survey. At the end of this survey, it is found that the current mental health of the UTHM Pagoh students is mild anxiety and an average level of stress.

The Causal Role of Temporoparietal Junction in Mediating Self-Other Mergence during Mentalizing.

Mentalizing is a core faculty of human social behaviors that involves inferring the cognitive states of others. This process necessitates adopting an allocentric perspective and suppressing one's egocentric perspective, referred to as self-other distinction (SOD). Meanwhile, individuals may project their own cognitive states onto others in prosocial behaviors, a process known as self-other mergence (SOM). It remains unclear how the two opposing processes coexist during mentalizing. We here combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) techniques with intranasal oxytocin (OTint) as a probe to examine the SOM effect in healthy male human participants, during which they attributed the cognitive states of decision confidence to an anonymous partner. Our results showed that OTint facilitated SOM via the left temporoparietal junction (lTPJ), but did not affect neural representations of internal information about others' confidence in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, which might be dedicated to SOD, although the two brain regions, importantly, have been suggested to be involved in mentalizing. Further, the SOM effect induced by OTint was fully mediated by the lTPJ activities and became weakened when the lTPJ activities were suppressed by rTMS. These findings suggest that the lTPJ might play a vital role in mediating SOM during mentalizing.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Every human mind is unique. It is critical to distinguish the minds of others from the self. On the contrary, we often project the current mental states of the self onto others; that is to say, self-other mergence (SOM). The neural mechanism underlying SOM remains unclear. We here used intranasal oxytocin (OTint) as a probe to leverage SOM, which is typically suppressed during mentalizing. We revealed that OTint specifically modulated the left temporoparietal junction (lTPJ) neural activities to fully mediate the SOM effect, while suppressing the lTPJ neural activities by transcranial magnetic stimulations causally attenuated the SOM effect. Our results demonstrate that the lTPJ might mediate SOM during social interactions.

Inferential self-knowledge reimagined

ABSTRACT In the epistemology of self-knowledge, Inferentialism is the view that one’s current mental states are normally known to one through inferences from evidence. This view is often taken to conflict with widespread claims about normally-acquired self-knowledge, namely that it is privileged (essentially more secure than knowledge of others’ minds) and peculiar (obtained in a way that fundamentally differs from how others know your mind). In this paper I argue that Inferentialism can be reconceived so as to no longer conflict with these claims. On a positive framing, Inferentialism earns a seat at the table alongside other theories of self-knowledge that take its potentially privileged and peculiar status seriously. On a less positive framing, Inferentialism’s plausibility now hinges on the plausibility of viewing self-knowledge as at least peculiar, and perhaps as privileged as well.