Greater Impulsivity Research Articles

SA123ANALYSIS OF MITOCHONDRIAL GENES ACROSS SCHIZOPHRENIA, BIPOLAR AND MAJOR DEPRESSION DISORDER

Schizophrenia (SZ) patients and their biological relatives are more impulsive than controls. Although greater impulsivity in SZ has been associated with dysfunction in prefrontal neural circuits implicated in reward processing, little is known regarding brain structural correlates of heightened impulsivity in unaffected adolescent relatives of SZ patients.Impulsive decision-making was assessed using the delay discounting task in 174 adolescents: 36 first-degree relatives (FDR) and 50 second-degree relatives (SDR) of SZ patients, and 88 healthy controls with no SZ family history (NSFH). We contrasted MRI brain gray matter cortical thickness-discounting constant (k) relationships between these 3 comparison groups using well-validated statistical approaches.FDR had a distinct pattern in cortical thickness-k associations when compared to NSFH and SDR. Preference for immediate rewards (i.e. greater impulsivity) among FDR correlated with less cortical thickness within diffuse brain regions, including dorsolateral prefrontal (cognitive control network and motor/premotor cortex) and lateral temporal (auditory and visual association cortex) brain areas.Adolescent impulsive decision-making may serve as an informative phenotype of underlying brain circuitry dysfunction associated with SZ risk. Future research focusing on impulsivity in SZ will likely help advance understanding how dysfunctional interactions between cognitive and reward neural circuits contribute to the neurobiological basis of SZ.

An investigation of delay and probability discounting in hoarding disorder

Behavioral impulsivity may be a mechanism of hoarding disorder (HD). A commonly used and well-validated measure of impulsivity is the delay and probability discounting task, which consists of making decisions about receiving monetary rewards after varying delay intervals and delivery probabilities. We compared delay and probability discounting and self-reported behavioral impulsivity in 81 patients with a primary diagnosis of HD and 45 nonclinical controls. HD participants completed the impulsivity measures before and after 16 weekly sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), whereas control group participants completed the measures before and after a 16-week waiting period. Despite the fact that self-reported impulsivity was greater in the HD group than the control group, delay and probability discounting did not differ between groups. Additionally, while self-reported behavioral impulsivity improved over the course of CBT in HD participants, delay and probability discounting did not change during treatment. Furthermore, higher delay discounting scores (i.e., greater preference for immediate rewards, indicating greater impulsivity) were associated with lower hoarding symptom severity. The findings suggest that self-reported impulsivity, but not objective performance on a behavioral impulsivity task, may be impaired in HD, and are discussed in terms of cognitive and affective factors in decision-making.

The Relationship Between the Big Five Personality Traits, Impulsivity, and Anabolic Steroid Use

Background: The increase in the prevalence of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) use has been the subject of study in the last decades. Several studies indicated a strong association between the use of AAS and the performance of risky behaviors mediated by factors such as aggression, impulsivity, depression, and anxiety. Objective: This study aimed to identify differences in personality trait, impulsivity, and the ability to delay gratification between AAS users and non-users that predispose or serve as a buffering mechanism against its usage and whether it is related to an increased likelihood of engaging in infidelity. Methods: Two hundred and twelve male volunteers (88 AAS users), aged between 21 and 36 years (M = 28.22), completed self-report measures of personality, impulsivity, delayed gratification, and attitudes toward infidelity. Multivariate analysis of variance and logistic regression were conducted to establish differences between AAS users and non-users. Results: The results showed that AAS users displayed an inability to delay gratification, a greater impulsivity, and a more benevolent attitude toward infidelity. AAS users obtained higher scores on openness and neuroticism, which was larger “off-cycle,” although they presented lower scores on extraversion compared to the non-users group. Regression analysis revealed that neuroticism, impulsivity, and delaying gratification scores were significant predictors of AAS usage. In addition, impulsivity functioned as a partial mediator in the relationship between neuroticism and AAS use. Conclusion: The results of this research highlight a pivotal implication of impulsivity in AAS use in conjunction with neuroticism, openness, and extraversion traits.

Birth weight and catch up growth are associated with childhood impulsivity in two independent cohorts

Individuals born after intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) are more impulsive towards palatable foods, but it is not clear 1) if IUGR-related impulsivity is specific for foods and solely based on response inhibition and 2) if the development of impulsivity is due to being born IUGR per se or to growing up fast in the first few years of life (catch up growth). Children were classified in the IUGR group if the birth weight ratio was below 0.85. Delta z score for BMI was used as a measure of catch up growth. In MAVAN (N = 274), impulsivity was measured by the Information Sampling Task from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (IST - CANTAB), and in GUSTO using the Sticker Delay Task (N = 327). There is a significant effect of interaction between being born IUGR and the magnitude of catch up growth on the reflection impulsivity from IST-CANTAB at 60 months, in which greater catch up growth associates with greater impulsivity in the IST fixed condition in IUGR children. The finding was reproduced in children from the GUSTO cohort using the Sticker Delay Task. We confirmed that catch up growth interacts with IUGR, having a major role in the development of impulsivity in the first years of life and influencing inhibitory control and decision making processes.

Prevalence and potential predictors of gambling disorder among people living with HIV

ABSTRACTSpecific subsets of the adult population are at an increased risk of problem gambling behaviors. Previous research among these subsets has found increased rates of disordered gambling among those with drug use, alcohol use, mood, anxiety, and personality disorders. To what extent this may apply to the HIV population, known to have a high burden of co-occurring substance use and mental disorders, is not known The current study also examined the effectiveness of The Brief Biosocial Gambling Screen (BBGS) for the diagnosis of gambling disorder.This study examined the prevalence of gambling behaviors and disordered gambling in patients enrolled in an urban HIV clinic. 100 people living with HIV (PLWH) were assessed on gambling behaviors, impulsivity, and criterion on disordered gambling. Screening for gambling disorder using the BBGS was compared to the American Psychiatric Association DSM-5 criterion.The mean age was 53, 44% were female, 60% completed high school or above, and 80% self-identified as unemployed/disabled. 13% met four or more criteria for gambling disorder according to DSM-5 criteria. Participants that met criteria were more likely to report marijuana (p = .044) and heroin (p = .002) use, and greater impulsivity (p < 0.00001) when compared to participants who did not meet criteria. The BBGS was able to effectively screen individuals for disordered gambling with a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 90.8%, positive predictive value of 56.2%, and a negative predictive value of 100%.These results suggest that urban HIV clinics may need to consider actively screening for gambling disorders, and referring to appropriate counseling and treatment for those who screen positive.

The Study of Disease Duration as a Risk Factor for the Development of Hospitalism in Elderly Psychiatric Patients

The phenomenon of hospitalism in elderly patients with mental disorders is an extremely important clinical, social, and economic problem. A total of 155 geronto-psychiatric patients were examined; 75 of them showed signs of hospitalism and 80 were the control group. A subgroup of patients with signs of hospitalism and short disease duration was selected. The duration of their inpatient treatment was 133.5 ± 42.24 days (72.11 ± 37.11 days in the respective control subgroup, p < 0.05). This subgroup was characterized by greater impulsivity as a personality trait and less adaptive coping strategies as compared to patients without hospitalism. In the subgroup of patients with signs of hospitalism and longer disease duration, the hospitalism-associated factors proved to be higher anxiety and depression in the current psychoemotional state, lower manifestation of adaptive cognitive coping, and lower disease sensitivity (all differences are significant at p < 0.05) against a longer stay in hospital as compared to patients with an analogous disease duration without hospitalism (249.67 ± 3.56 and 79.58 ± 39.52 days, respectively, p < 0.05).

Decreased resting-state BOLD regional homogeneity and the intrinsic functional connectivity within dorsal striatum is associated with greater impulsivity in food-related decision-making and BMI change at 6-month follow up

Increasing animal models as well as brain imaging studies among human suggest an association between substance-related impulsivity in decision-making and decreased function of dorsal striatum. However, the resting-state intrinsic functional organization of dorsal striatum underlying food-choice impulsivity remains unknown. To address this issue, we used resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) to measure brain activity among adult females. Subjects underwent the food rating task, during which they rated each food item according to their subjective perception of its taste (from Dislike it very much to Like it very much), its long term effect on health (from very unhealthy to very healthy) and decision strength to eat it (from Strong no to Strong yes). Behaviorally, impulsivity in food-choice was indexed by the decision strength of the palatable high-calorie food rather than of the low-caloric food. Results on rs-fMRI showed that greater impulsivity in food-related decision-making was inversely correlated with spontaneous regional homogeneity in the dorsal striatum (dorsal caudate), as well as the resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) between the dorsal caudate seed and the rostral putamen. Furthermore, the caudate-putamen rs-FC inversely predicted BMI change at six-month follow-up. These findings may suggest the insensitivity to reward signals in dorsal caudate in decision-making coupled with an imbalance between goal-directed behaviors (modulated by dorsal caudate) and habitual actions (modulated by putamen) underlying impulsivity and future weight gain. In sum, these findings extend our understanding on the neural basis of food-related impulsivity, and provide evidence for the dorsal striatum as one of the landmarks in over eating and weight change.

Academic outcomes and cognitive performance in problematic Internet users.

Only few studies have examined the relationship between problematic Internet use (PIU) and cognitive and academic performance in adolescents. The aim of this study was to analyze the differences in academic and cognitive performance (perception, attention, memory, verbal fluency and abstract reasoning) between adolescents with and without PIU. A total of 575 students from different high schools of the region of Alicante participated. Students were divided into two groups: adolescents with and without PIU (PIU and NPIU, respectively). Several questionnaires were administered to assess problematic Internet use, as well as students' academic performance. Substance use (alcohol / cannabis) was also assessed as exclusion criteria. A battery of neuropsychological tests was used to assess cognitive abilities. On the one hand, PIU users group obtained poorer academic results than NPIU, in terms of lower marks and more failed subjects. On the other hand, PIU group had a better hit ratio in the perception test than NPIU group. However, PIU adolescents got higher error rates for the abstract reasoning test. This greater number of errors, plus a similar number of hits compared to the NPIU group, could indicated a higher response rate for the PIU group, which may might be associated with greater impulsivity. As occurs in other addictive and non-substance-related problems studies, these results could mean difficulties in impulse control and regulation of response inhibition circuits in PIU users group. Future research is needed to analyze in depth the results presented in this paper.

Fluoxetine Administration in Juvenile Monkeys: Implications for Pharmacotherapy in Children.

Fluoxetine therapy has been approved for children with major depressive disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder for over 14 years and has expanded to other childhood behavior disorders. As use increases, more detail on fluoxetine effects during juvenile brain development can help maintain safe and effective use of this therapy. Here, a narrative review is provided of previously published findings from a large nonhuman primate project. Fluoxetine was administered to juvenile male rhesus monkeys for an extended period (2 years) prior to puberty. Compared to controls, treated monkeys showed sleep disruption, facilitated social interaction, greater impulsivity, and impaired sustained attention during treatment. No effects on growth were seen. Metabolomics assays characterized a distinctive response to fluoxetine and demonstrated individual differences that were related to the impulsivity measure. Fluoxetine interactions with monoamine oxidase A polymorphisms that influenced behavior and metabolomics markers were an important, previously unrecognized finding of our studies. After treatment was discontinued, some behavioral effects persisted, but short-term memory and cognitive flexibility testing did not show drug effects. This detailed experimental work can contribute to clinical research and continued safe and effective fluoxetine pharmacotherapy in children.

Characteristics of Suicide Attempters and Ideators in a Clinical Sample of Substance Users

ABSTRACTThere is little research to distinguish those who attempt suicide and those who only consider suicide, and the role that substance use plays in this progression. We aim to describe clinical correlates of suicide attempters versus ideators in substance users. We examined characteristics of substance users (N = 185) that had either a suicide attempt within the last 6 months (n = 94) or were suicide ideators (n = 91). Suicide attempters displayed significant different clinical profiles to that of non-attemptors. Relative to ideators, attempters had greater scores on impulsivity, the brief psychiatric scale and more likely to be female and a recent psychostimulant user. Logistic regression revealed that male gender was associated with a decreased odds of a previous suicide attempt (OR = 0.37, p < 0.05) and greater impulsivity scores were associated with increased odds of an attempt (OR = 1.15, p < 0.05), although entering interaction terms diminished the role of impulsivity and revealed a significant interaction of alcohol use x depression. While impulsivity was a significant predictor of suicide attempt relative to depression or alcohol use alone, this reduced when considering interactions between psychological characteristics and substance use, whereby the effect of alcohol use on the likelihood of a recent suicide attempt varied at different levels of depression.

Impulsivity and Response Latency in Non-Suicidal Self-Injury: The Role of Negative Urgency in Emotion Regulation.

Impulsivity is thought to be a contributing factor in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), yet the research is limited and inconsistent. In particular, little is known about how impulsivity is associated with response latency between initial urge and later self-injury, emotion regulation processes, or severity of NSSI. In this study, we tested group differences between participants with and without a history of NSSI on a questionnaire measure of impulsivity. In addition, we tested hypothesized correlations between impulsivity and relevant variables within the NSSI sample using questionnaires and self-reported response latency between urge and injury. Participants included 159 undergraduate students, 84 with an NSSI history and 75 without an NSSI history. Results indicated greater impulsivity on facets of Urgency and (lack of) Perseverance for the NSSI group. Within the NSSI sample, facets of impulsivity were associated with difficulties in emotion regulation and NSSI severity, but not response latency. In addition, response latency, a possible behavioral marker of impulsivity, was not associated with emotion regulation processes or NSSI frequency. These results suggest that higher scores on self-report measures of impulsivity, but not behavioral response latency measures, are associated with emotion regulation processes in individuals who self-injure.

Factors Associated With Marijuana use and Problems Among College Students in Colorado

ABSTRACTBackground: Past studies have shown that heavy marijuana use can impact student outcomes. Frequent use and misuse of marijuana have been associated with a range of psychological and personality factors in young adults, but there has been limited research focused on the college environment in states where marijuana has been legalized for recreational purposes.Objectives: We examined whether marijuana use and problems were associated with a range of demographic, personality, and psychological variables among college students at a midsized Colorado university. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 300 university students who submitted a urine screen and completed measures on marijuana use, problem marijuana use, anxiety, depression, impulsivity, and openness to experience. Results: Last year and recent marijuana use were high (65%, 29%; respectively), as assessed through self-report and a urine screen. Using logistic regression, male sex and greater openness to experience were associated with greater marijuana use when assessed with a urine screen, while greater openness to experience and impulsivity were associated with greater self-reported marijuana use within the last year. In the final step of a hierarchical linear regression model, male sex and greater impulsivity and depression–but not openness to experience, general anxiety or social anxiety–were associated with greater problem marijuana use. Conclusions: This study extends the literature on psychological and personality correlates of marijuana use among college students. It may be useful to assess these correlates to identify students who are at risk of developing problems and in intervening with students with problem use.

Trait impulsiveness is related to smaller post-commissural putamen volumes in males but not females.

Impulsivity is considered a vulnerability trait for addiction. Recently, we found trait non-planning impulsiveness measured with the Karolinska Scales of Personality was negatively correlated with dopamine D2/3 receptor availability in the ventral striatum of healthy humans. While also observed in rodents, human studies have failed to find this association with other measures of trait impulsivity. We explored whether another rodent finding, reduced ventral striatum volume with greater impulsivity, could also be observed in humans using this scale. Non-planning impulsiveness was measured in 52 healthy subjects (21 female; mean age: 33.06±9.69) using the Karolinska Scales of Personality. Striatal subregion volumes, including the globus pallidus, were acquired using the Multiple Automatically Generated Templates (MAGeT-Brain) algorithm. Although failing to support our a priori hypothesis, there was a significant sex interaction in the post-commissural putamen with impulsiveness. Exploratory analyses revealed impulsiveness was negatively correlated with post-commissural putamen volumes in males, but positively correlated in females. We replicated this finding in males in an increased sample (including all 52 previous subjects) who provided impulsiveness measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory (n=73; 32 female; mean age: 33.48±9.75). These correlations by sex were statistically different from one another, the main finding with the Kasolinksa Scales of Personality surviving correction for multiple comparisons. While impulsivity may be related to reduced ventral striatal D2/3 receptors across sexes, males but not females may show significant reductions in post-commissural putamen volume. These findings have important implications for understanding biological markers underlying sex differences in drug addiction vulnerability.

On the Processes Underlying the Relationship Between Alexithymia and Gambling Severity.

A great number of individuals with persistent problematic gambling behavior exhibit alexithymic tendencies, greater impulsivity, impaired working memory and poor mood. However, the relationship between these cognitive, affective and personality factors in problem gambling remains poorly understood. Our aim was to investigate multiple pathways of the alexithymia and problem gambling relationship. One hundred and six male subjects with different levels of gambling problem severity were recruited. Alexithymia, impulsivity and verbal working memory were evaluated, and their relationships to disordered gambling was examined by means of a path analysis. Results indicate that alexithymia is related to an increase in the severity of gambling indirectly, i.e., through distress severity. In addition, a rise of alexithymic tendencies was also associated with problem gambling severity through enhanced impulsivity that directly increased distress. Working memory capacity failed to significantly impact our path model. Overall, our findings contribute a new finding to the literature by highlighting the importance of alexithymia, in addition to impulsivity, in the understanding of gambling problem severity and its clinical course.

Neurobiological correlates of impulsivity in healthy adults: Lower prefrontal gray matter volume and spontaneous eye-blink rate but greater resting-state functional connectivity in basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuitry

Studies consistently implicate aberrance of the brain's reward-processing and decision-making networks in disorders featuring high levels of impulsivity, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, substance use disorder, and psychopathy. However, less is known about the neurobiological determinants of individual differences in impulsivity in the general population. In this study of 105 healthy adults, we examined relationships between impulsivity and three neurobiological metrics – gray matter volume, resting-state functional connectivity, and spontaneous eye-blink rate, a physiological indicator of central dopaminergic activity. Impulsivity was measured both by performance on a task of behavioral inhibition (go/no-go task) and by self-ratings of attentional, motor, and non-planning impulsivity using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). Overall, we found that less gray matter in medial orbitofrontal cortex and paracingulate gyrus, greater resting-state functional connectivity between nodes of the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical network, and lower spontaneous eye-blink rate were associated with greater impulsivity. Specifically, less prefrontal gray matter was associated with higher BIS-11 motor and non-planning impulsivity scores, but was not related to task performance; greater correlated resting-state functional connectivity between the basal ganglia and thalamus, motor cortices, and prefrontal cortex was associated with worse no-go trial accuracy on the task and with higher BIS-11 motor impulsivity scores; lower spontaneous eye-blink rate was associated with worse no-go trial accuracy and with higher BIS-11 motor impulsivity scores. These data provide evidence that individual differences in impulsivity in the general population are related to variability in multiple neurobiological metrics in the brain's reward-processing and decision-making networks.

Chronic Tobacco-Smoking on Psychopathological Symptoms, Impulsivity and Cognitive Deficits in HIV-Infected Individuals.

HIV-infected individuals (HIV+) has 2-3 times the rate of tobacco smoking than the general population, and whether smoking may lead to greater psychiatric symptoms or cognitive deficits remains unclear. We evaluated the independent and combined effects of being HIV+ and chronic tobacco-smoking on impulsivity, psychopathological symptoms and cognition. 104 participants [27 seronegative (SN)-non-Smokers, 26 SN-Smokers, 29 HIV+non-Smokers, 22 HIV+Smokers] were assessed for psychopathology symptoms (Symptom Checklist-90, SCL-90), depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, CES-D), impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, BIS), decision-making (The Iowa Gambling Task, IGT, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, WCST), and cognition (seven neurocognitive domains). Both HIV+ and Smoker groups had higher SCL-90 and CES-D scores, with highest scores in HIV+Smokers. On BIS, both HIV+ and Smokers had higher Total Impulsiveness scores, with higher behavioral impulsivity in Smokers, highest in HIV+Smokers. Furthermore, across the four groups, HIV+Smokers lost most money and made fewest advantageous choices on the IGT, and had highest percent errors on WCST. Lastly, HIV+ had lower z-scores on all cognitive domains, with the lowest scores in HIV+Smokers. These findings suggest that HIV-infection and chronic tobacco smoking may lead to additive deleterious effects on impulsivity, psychopathological (especially depressive) symptoms and cognitive dysfunction. Although greater impulsivity may be premorbid in HIV+ and Smokers, the lack of benefits of nicotine in chronic Smokers on attention and psychopathology, especially those with HIV-infection, may be due to the negative effects of chronic smoking on dopaminergic and cardio-neurovascular systems. Tobacco smoking may contribute to psychopathology and neurocognitive disorders in HIV+ individuals.

Self-control and honesty depend on exposure to pictures of the opposite sex in men but not women

Abstract Research has shown that viewing stimuli that induce mating or sex motivation can push men towards greater impulsivity, a manifestation of lower self-control. Recent advances in research on the connection between self-control and moral behavior indicate that low self-control is associated with increased dishonesty. From an evolutionary perspective, when mating motivation is activated, men may behave in dishonest ways by projecting characteristics in line with women's mate preferences to enhance their sexual attractiveness. We tested the possibility that exposure to pictures of sexually appealing women would engender lower self-control, leading men to behave dishonestly. The results showed that a state of lower self-control was observed in males who viewed women rated high on sexual attractiveness but not in males who viewed women rated low on sexual attractiveness or in females who viewed men (Experiment 1). Compared with control participants, male participants exposed to pictures of sexy women were less likely to return excess money received for participating (Experiment 2) and more likely to cheat in a matrix task (Experiments 3 and 4). State self-control mediated the link between exposure to sexual stimuli and dishonest behavior in men (Experiments 2 and 4). For men whose mating motivation is heightened by exposure to sexual stimuli, dishonesty appears to be a tactic for projecting characteristics preferred by women (e.g., large economic resources).

Delay Discounting of Video Game Players: Comparison of Time Duration Among Gamers.

Video game addiction or Internet game disorder, as proposed by the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition), has similar criterion characteristics to other impulse control disorders. There is limited research examining video game addiction within a behavioral economic framework using delay discounting. The current study evaluated delay-discounting patterns of money and video game play by usual weekly hours of video game play. A total of 104 participants were split into 1 of 3 groups of video game players (low, medium, and high) and were asked to complete a monetary and video game discounting procedure through an online survey. Results showed significant differences between groups within both the monetary (p = 0.003) and video game discounting procedures (p = 0.004). Additionally, a positive linear relationship was noted between the groups across both procedures. The results of the current article reinforce previous findings that more hours of video game use are associated with greater impulsivity and provide implications for future research.

Measuring a conceptual model of the relationship between compulsive cell phone use, in-vehicle cell phone use, and motor vehicle crash

ObjectivesPrevious research suggests that anticipation of incoming phone calls or messages and impulsivity are significantly associated with motor vehicle crash. We took a more explanative approach to investigate a conceptual model regarding the direct and indirect effect of compulsive cell phone use and impulsive personality traits on crash risk. MethodsWe recruited a sample of 307 undergraduate college students to complete an online survey that included measures of cell phone use, impulsivity, and history of motor vehicle crash. Using a structural equation model, we examined the direct and indirect relationships between factors of the Cell Phone Overuse Scale-II (CPOS-II), impulsivity, in-vehicle phone use, and severity and frequency of previous motor vehicle crash. Self-reported miles driven per week and year in college were included as covariates in the model. ResultsOur findings suggest that anticipation of incoming communication has a direct association with greater in-vehicle phone use, but was not directly or indirectly associated with increasing risk of previous motor vehicle crash. Of the three latent factors comprising the CPOS-II, only anticipation was significantly associated with elevated cell phone use while driving. Greater impulsivity and use of in-vehicle cell phone use while driving were directly and significantly associated with greater risk of motor vehicle crash. ConclusionsAnticipation of incoming cellular contacts (calls or texts) is associated with greater in-vehicle phone use, while greater in-vehicle cell phone use and impulsive traits are associated with elevated risk of motor vehicle crashes.

Extreme sensory processing patterns show a complex association with depression, and impulsivity, alexithymia, and hopelessness

IntroductionThe involvement of extreme sensory processing patterns, impulsivity, alexithymia, and hopelessness was hypothesized to contribute to the complex pathophysiology of major depression and bipolar disorder. However, the nature of the relation between these variables has not been thoroughly investigated. AimsThis study aimed to explore the association between extreme sensory processing patterns, impulsivity, alexithymia, depression, and hopelessness. MethodsWe recruited 281 euthymic participants (mean age=47.4±12.1) of which 62.3% with unipolar major depression and 37.7% with bipolar disorder. All participants completed the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (AASP), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), second version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS), and Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS). ResultsLower registration of sensory input showed a significant correlation with depression, impulsivity, attentional/motor impulsivity, and alexithymia. It was significantly more frequent among participants with elevated hopelessness, and accounted for 22% of the variance in depression severity, 15% in greater impulsivity, 36% in alexithymia, and 3% in hopelessness. Elevated sensory seeking correlated with enhanced motor impulsivity and decreased non-planning impulsivity. Higher sensory sensitivity and sensory avoiding correlated with depression, impulsivity, and alexithymia. LimitationsThe study was limited by the relatively small sample size and cross-sectional nature of the study. Furthermore, only self-report measures that may be potentially biased by social desirability were used. ConclusionExtreme sensory processing patterns, impulsivity, alexithymia, depression, and hopelessness may show a characteristic pattern in patients with major affective disorders. The careful assessment of sensory profiles may help in developing targeted interventions and improve functional/adaptive strategies.