Non-clinical Populations Research Articles

Development and Validation of the Narrative Identity Self-Evaluation Scale (NISE)

In narrative identity research, variables are typically captured through detailed content-coding of personal narratives. Yet, alternative methods have been suggested, notably self-report scales, because they capture a participant’s own interpretation of their personal narratives, and because they are efficient to administer as a supplement to more labor-intensive coding methods. This study developed and validated the Narrative Identity Self-Evaluation (NISE) questionnaire. In Study 1, the questionnaire was developed through exploratory factor analysis (n = 425) and its criterion validity examined. In Study 2, the NISE factor structure and criterion relationships were confirmed (n = 304). In Study 3 (based on the same sample as Study 1), content-coding of 11 narrative identity characteristics in open-ended personal story accounts was conducted, and NISE scores were compared to corresponding content-coded variables. The 20-item NISE has three factors replicating common dimensions in narrative identity (autobiographical reasoning, desire for structure, positive motivational/affective themes) and a novel fourth factor capturing disturbances of narrative identity. The NISE correlated in theoretically-coherent ways with content coded narrative identity variables, self-report traits, and measures relevant for narrative identity, self-concept, well-being, and psychopathology. We discuss the scale’s advantages in complementing content-coding of narrative accounts to assess variation in narrative identity within both clinical and non-clinical populations.

Emotion processes in voice-hearers: Understanding differences in emotional reactivity, emotion regulation and alexithymia.

Disrupted emotion processes are commonly linked to the onset and maintenance of auditory verbal hallucinations. However, a comprehensive approach using an extended emotion model has not previously been applied to voice-hearers to distinguish impairments in emotion processes from non-clinical populations. The present study hypothesised voice-hearers, as compared to controls, would have (1) higher reactivity to negative emotions and lower reactivity to positive emotions, (2) more difficulties regulating negative and positive emotions, (3) more maladaptive strategy use, and (4) higher alexithymia. T-tests tested these hypotheses, comparing self-report measures of emotional reactivity, emotion regulation and alexithymia in voice-hearers(n = 50) to controls (n = 53). There were no group differences in emotional reactivity to positive or negative emotions. Compared to controls, voice-hearers showed difficulties in both positive and negative emotion regulation, were more likely to use expressive suppression, and were more likely to be alexithymic. These findings may help researchers and clinicians identify difficulties in voice-hearers' emotion processing, providing better direction for case formulation and treatment.

Mapping punishment avoidance learning deficits in non-suicidal self-injury in young adults with and without borderline personality disorder: An fMRI study

IntroductionNon-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a growing public health concern among young adults in both clinical and non-clinical settings. Despite evidence linking NSSI to alterations in learning from reward and punishment, this area remains understudied, especially in non-clinical populations without borderline personality disorder (BPD). MethodsWe employed a modified version of the Probabilistic Stimulus Selection (PSS) task in two groups of young adults with recurrent NSSI, with (NSSI+BPD) and without BPD (NSSI), and an additional group of healthy controls (HC). While undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), participants were asked to choose between pairs of stimuli with different reward probabilities. In the training phase, they received probabilistic feedback and learned to identify the most rewarding option within fixed pairs. In the test phase, these learned stimuli were recombined into novel pairs, where participants' accuracy in selecting the most rewarding and avoiding the most punishing options reflected their ability to learn from reward and punishment, respectively. ResultsCompared to HC, participants in the NSSI and NSSI+BPD groups were less accurate at avoiding the most punishing options than at choosing the most rewarding options, and showed reduced activity in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) during punishment avoidance relative to reward selection. LimitationsThe modest sample size, descriptive rather than modeling approach, and absence of ecological momentary assessments may limit the results. ConclusionFindings suggest that reduced activation of the NAcc when avoiding loss may underlie difficulties in learning to avoid punishment in young adults with NSSI, regardless of the presence of BPD.

Fear among patients with Parkinson's disease and repeated falls: Analysis of skin conductance responses during simulated accidents

IntroductionThe fear of falling (FoF) usually increases in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD); however, it can decrease despite repeated falls for unknown reasons. This phenomenon is similar to the findings that the patients with PD show lower emotional responses in the decision-making during the Iowa gambling task (IGT) than of those without PD. The decision-making during the IGT is reportedly correlated with interoceptive accuracy. This phenomenon could be associated with decreased physiological reaction and interoception deficiency. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with decreased FoF in patients with PD who fell repeatedly. MethodsWe recorded the skin conductance responses (SCR) during the task delivered by a virtual reality system and heartbeat perception task (HPT) as an interoceptive measure. We measured emotional self-awareness using visual analog scale (VAS) scores. We recruited 28 non-demented patients with PD and 24 age-matched Non-clinical population (NC) group. All patients with PD were grouped by FoF scale score and number of falls within the previous year into repeated falls without FoF, repeated falls with FoF, and no falls groups. ResultsThe SCR during all accident videos experienced by themselves were significantly lower in the repeated falls without FoF group than in the NC group (p < 0.01). The HPT was significantly lower in the repeated falls without FoF group than in the NC group (p = 0.007). ConclusionThe repeated falls without FoF group did not recognize recurrent falls as being problematic, possibly associated with decreased physiological reactions and interoception deficiency.

Reducing emotion dysregulation online in nonclinical population with compassion focused therapy and emotional competencies program: A randomized controlled trial.

The present randomized controlled study aimed to evaluate the effects of two interventions on emotional dysregulation as a primary outcome and on depression, anxiety, stress, well-being, self-compassion and emotional competencies as secondary outcomes. Finally, the mediating role of emotional dysregulation as a core process in the effect of interventions on anxiety-depressive and stress symptoms was evaluated. One hundred and seventy-nine individuals aged 18-68 years (M = 39, SD = 12.4; 83.9% females) with emotion regulation difficulties were randomly assigned to one of the three 12-weeks online programs: Compassion Focused Program (CFP), an Emotional Competencies Program (ECP) or a Waitlist control condition (WL). Participants completed pre-, post- and 3 months follow-up measures of each outcome. Mixed effect linear models compared groups on primary and secondary outcomes. Results showed that (1) perceived credibility and expectancy and satisfaction did not differ between the two interventions, (2) both interventions reduced emotion regulation difficulty, depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, and enhanced well-being, self-compassion, and emotional competencies; (3) ECP was more effective to enhance well-being than CFP; (4) CFP was more effective to enhance emotional competencies than ECP, and (5) emotion regulation difficulty mediated the effect of the interventions on depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Findings offer preliminary support for the usefulness of online CFP and ECP to reduce emotion dysregulation, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress and to increase well-being, self-compassion and emotional competencies. These results are discussed regarding clinical practice and the transdiagnostic role of emotional dysregulation.

Social factors that promote resilience in adolescents with depression: a systematic review

Abstract Background A socially protective environment matters. Social factors can protect against the development of depression among adolescents in community samples. There is however scant knowledge about their buffering role on the impact of depressive symptoms in adolescents in a clinical setting. Understanding these factors can help explaining why some children function well despite of their depression symptoms. In this review, we aimed to identify which social protective factors mitigate impairment from depression in adolescents. Methods We included peer-reviewed, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies using the following search strategy: Social protective factors AND depression or depression symptoms AND adolescents AND daily impairment, yielding 1737 hits. Included studies focused on social protective factors in relation to a depression diagnosis or depression symptoms severity, in adolescents age 11-24. Preliminary results We found 6 studies that examined the relationship between social protective factors and impairment or severity of depression symptoms in adolescents with a clinical depression or elevated symptoms. In these studies, higher rates of parental attachment, parental monitoring and school belonging moderated the relation between depression symptoms and daily impairment. Higher rates of family support and peer belonging were associated with the low depressed mood group. The rest of the studies tested the association of social protective factors on the development of depression symptoms in non-clinical populations. Conclusions There are limited studies on the buffering role of social protective factors in adolescents with clinical depression. Next, we will focus on non-clinical, longitudinal studies to explore which social protective factors moderate the development of depression over time. We aim to identify social factors that can mitigate the development of depression in community samples and are potentially important for clinical settings. Key messages • There is a scarcity of studies that explored the relation between social protective factors in adolescents with elevated depression symptoms or depression diagnosis. • The role of social protective factors that moderate the development of adolescent depression symptoms over time should be prioritized in the development of intervention programs.

Prediction of mental health risk in adolescents via a smartphone app: a feasibility pilot study

Abstract Background The prevalence of mental health problems in adolescents is a global public health concern. Machine learning (ML) can analyse multidimensional data collected by phone sensors (passive tracking) and symptom self-reporting (active tracking) to model and predict mental health states. However, research in adolescents is lacking. This study investigated the feasibility of using ML to predict mental health in a non-clinical population of adolescents from active and passive data collected through the Mindcraft mobile app. Methods We recruited 103 secondary students (aged 14-18) who first completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and then used the Mindcraft app for two weeks. The app integrates sensor data (location, steps, noise, light, battery, app usage) and self-reports. We extracted 85 sensor-based features and 19 from questionnaires to develop a gradient-boosted ensemble ML model. This model identifies students with abnormal SDQ scores and was evaluated using leave-one-out cross-validation. Results All students completed the active questionnaires; 67 also provided passive sensor data. 31 had abnormal SDQ scores. Using passive data, the ML model reached a balanced accuracy of 0.64 and an AUC score of 0.57. Incorporating both data types improved accuracy to 0.67 and AUC to 0.70. Feature importance scores showed step count and questionnaire on racing thoughts and hopefulness as most significant. Conclusions Our findings affirm the potential of integrating passive and active data collection to monitor mental health in real-world settings. Our ML model demonstrated moderate accuracy in predicting adolescents’ mental health risk measured with a behavioural screening questionnaire. This study will guide the development of a ML-driven, personalised mobile intervention for early symptom detection and mental health self-management, which might constitute an innovative and scalable tool for mental health prevention and intervention in adolescents. Key messages • This study shows the feasibility of using active and passive data to predict mental health risk in adolescents. • This study informs the development of a personalised machine learning-driven mobile intervention.

Exacerbation of paranoia-like thoughts following exposure to common misophonia trigger sounds

Paranoia-like thoughts refer to heightened suspicions and unfounded beliefs about being watched or persecuted by others. Recent research has found a significant correlation between misophonia symptoms, a form of decreased sound tolerance, and paranoia-like thoughts, both of which are linked to heightened negative emotions in clinical and non-clinical populations. Notably, it has been observed that misophonia may also be associated with the tendency to attribute hostile intent to those producing triggering sounds, a feature consistent with paranoid ideation (i.e., perceptions of intentional harm). However, existing research is based on correlational data, limiting causal inference. Therefore, an online study involving a non-clinical sample (N = 487) employed an experimental approach to examine the relationship between misophonia symptoms, negative emotional response, and paranoia-like thoughts. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four task conditions, each related to exposure to different stimulus types: orofacial human-produced sounds, non-human sounds, sounds without visual context, or visuals devoid of sound. The results of mixed model ANOVA and mediation analysis revealed that exposure to common misophonia trigger sounds with a human-related visual context raised, but not significantly, the levels of paranoia-like thoughts. However, it did lead to a significant increase in negative emotions, which, in turn, proved to be a significant mediator of an increase in paranoia-like thoughts. Conversely, exposure to non-human sounds or to only audio/visual stimuli either decreased both negative emotions and paranoia-like thoughts or showed no significant change. This emphasized the role of context and the involvement of negative emotional response to human-made sounds in amplifying paranoia-like thoughts. Importantly, this effect was observed in individuals who do not meet the provisional diagnostic criteria for misophonia, suggesting that symptoms of misophonia may extend beyond clinical diagnoses, with milder manifestations potentially being present within the general population.

Harm avoidance and incompleteness core motivations in obsessive-compulsive disorder: validation of the Farsi version of the Obsessive-Compulsive Trait Core Dimensions Questionnaire (F-OC-TCDQ) in Iran

BackgroundAttention to the heterogeneous manifestations of obsessive-compulsive symptoms observed in clinical and nonclinical populations has motivated researchers to use tools to identify homogeneous subgroups of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients. The Obsessive-Compulsive Trait Core Dimensions Questionnaire (OC-TCDQ) is used to evaluate two motivational dimensions of OCD (harm avoidance (HA) and incompleteness (INC)), which has been developed in recent years based on the core dimensions model, and to classify homogeneous subgroups. This study aimed to validate the Farsi version of the OC-TCDQ in Iran.MethodsThe psychometric properties of the OC-TCDQ were tested in two clinical samples (209 patients with OCD) and nonclinical samples (209 participants without OCD). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to test the two-factor structure. The measurement invariance between the clinical and nonclinical groups was evaluated. Reliability was tested using Cronbach’s alpha, split-half, and retesting (two-week intervals). Convergent and divergent validity were analysed with Pearson’s correlation and the incremental validity of this scale in predicting Yale-Brown Obsession Scale (Y-BOCS) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scores using hierarchical regression analysis. The discriminant validity of the two clinical and nonclinical groups was investigated with a t-test.ResultsSimilar to the original version, the CFA showed a good fit for the two-factor structure. The invariance of measurement between samples, good internal consistency and retest reliability, and convergent and divergent validity of this scale were confirmed. The results of hierarchical regression analysis indicated the increasing validity of this scale in predicting the Y-BOCS and BAI compared to the OBQ-44 (p < 0.05), and comparing the scores of two groups with and without OCD indicated its discriminant validity (p < 0.01).ConclusionThese findings show that the Farsi-OC-TCDQ is a valid tool for evaluating the motivational dimensions of harm avoidance and incompleteness in Iranian individuals with and without OCD, and it allows us to compare the scores across groups.

Validation of the Modified Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (mYFAS 2.0) in Spanish University Students.

The aim of this study was to explore the factorial structure, psychometric properties and association with anthropometric and clinical variables of the Modified Yale Addiction Scale 2.0 (mYFAS 2.0) in a Spanish university population. A cross-sectional study of n = 270 university students in Spain was conducted. mYFAS 2.0, Emotional Eater Questionnaire (EEQ), Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), Pittsburg Sleep Quality index (PSQI) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). In mYFAS 2.0 were performed an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), an Unweight Least Square (ULS), a model fit using comparative fit index (CFI) and nomological validity. EFA revealed that a two-factor structure is the most appropriate in a non-clinical population of Spanish university students. The factors accounted for 18.54% and 16.33% of the variance, and the correlation between them was moderate-0.487 (p < 0.001). This different structure from that reported in the original scale could be derived from the cultural characteristics and intrinsic eating habits of the study population. The correlation matrix reported an inverse association of mYFAS 2.0 with Body Mass Index (BMI). In addition, participants with a BMI below 25 showed a higher mYFAS 2.0 and EEQ score. These results suggest some changes in the psychometric assessment structure of the mYFAS 2.0 in a non-clinical population of university students, as well as the usefulness of this questionnaire to identify individuals with an adequate BMI but with compensatory behaviours that predispose to different eating disorders.

Association between overweight and central interleukin-6 in a nonclinical adult population.

Overweight is associated with low-grade systemic inflammation. However, its effect on neuroinflammation remains unclear. We examined the possible association between overweight and neuroinflammation using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in a nonclinical adult population in Japan. CSF and plasma levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), and leptin were measured in nonclinical adult participants (35 males and 34 females) who had no current or past history of neuropsychiatric diseases. We performed partial correlation analyses with sex and age as covariates between the body mass index (BMI) and the inflammatory markers and compared them between overweight and nonoverweight participants. The BMI significantly correlated with CSF levels of IL-6 (rs = 0.32, p = 0.009), plasma levels of CRP (rs = 0.30, p = 0.016), IL-1β (rs = 0.29, p = 0.019), IL-6 (rs = 0.25, p = 0.042), TNF-α (rs = 0.43, p < 0.001), and leptin (rs = 0.72, p < 0.001). Overweight participants (BMI ≧ 25) had significantly higher CSF levels of IL-6 (p < 0.001), plasma levels of IL-1β (p = 0.023), TNF-α (p < 0.001), and leptin (p < 0.001) than the nonoverweight participants. Overweight is associated with central IL-6, a marker for neuroinflammation, as well as systemic inflammation markers, even in a nonclinical population.

Structural Equation Modeling of Suicidal Ideation and Behavior: A Three-Step Theory Perspective

Background: Suicide, defined as the intentional act of self-inflicted death, constitutes a significant global public health burden. Every year, over 700,000 individuals worldwide die by suicide. Studies in Iran have reported an alarming prevalence of suicidal behavior among students, with estimates of suicide attempts ranging from 1.8% to 3.5%, and suicidal ideation rates fluctuating between 6.2% and 42.7%. This complex phenomenon is influenced by a wide array of factors. A major challenge to effective suicide prevention strategies is the limited understanding of the mechanisms that lead from suicidal ideation to actual suicide attempts. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between suicidal ideation, suicidal behaviors, and the constructs of the three-step theory within a student population. Methods: A cross-sectional design was employed, with convenience sampling enrolling 260 students from Zanjan University of Medical Sciences. Students consented to participate and completed various questionnaires, including the Beck Suicide Ideation Scale (BSSI), the Inventory of Motivations for Suicide Attempts (IMSA), the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), the Symptom Checklist-25 (SCL-25), the Acquired Capability for Suicide Scale (ACSS), and a single-item suicide attempt question. The participants ranged in age from 18 to 52 years (mean: 23.62, standard deviation: 5.48), with 75% of the sample being female, and 85% single. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 24 and AMOS 24 software. Results: Correlation analysis revealed that psychic pain, hopelessness, and low belongingness were significantly and directly correlated with both suicidal ideations and behaviors (all P-values &lt; 0.05). Structural equation modeling results demonstrated that the combination of pain and hopelessness directly predicted suicidal ideation (β = 0.318, P &lt; 0.001) and low belongingness (β = 0.867, P &lt; 0.001). These factors indirectly predicted suicidal behavior through suicidal ideation, capability for suicide, and low belongingness (β = 0.406, P &lt; 0.001). Additionally, suicidal ideation was a strong direct predictor of suicidal behavior (β = 0.556, P &lt; 0.001), and low belongingness directly predicted suicidal behaviors (β = 0.226, P &lt; 0.001). However, the capability for suicide did not statistically predict suicidal behavior within this student sample. Conclusions: The findings support the validity of the three-step theory in a student population. Pain, hopelessness, and low belongingness were significant predictors of suicidal ideation and attempts among students, while the capability for suicide did not predict suicidal behavior in this context. These results provide a novel perspective by confirming the applicability of the three-step theory in a non-clinical student population, offering valuable insights into the interrelations of the model’s key components.

Reliability of Theory of Mind Tasks in Schizophrenia, ASD, and Nonclinical Populations: A Systematic Review and Reliability Generalization Meta-analysis.

Though theory of mind (ToM) is an important area of study for different disciplines, however, the psychometric evaluations of ToM tasks have yielded inconsistent results across studies and populations, raising the concerns about the accuracy, consistency, and generalizability of these tasks. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the psychometric reliability of 27 distinct ToM tasks across 90 studies involving 2771 schizophrenia (SZ), 690 autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and 15,599 nonclinical populations (NC). Findings revealed that while all ToM tasks exhibited satisfactory internal consistency in ASD and SZ, about half of them were not satisfactory in NC, including the commonly used Reading the Mind in the Eye Test and Hinting Task. Other than that, Reading the Mind in the Eye Test showed acceptable reliability across populations, whereas Hinting Task had poor test-retest reliability. Notably, only Faux Pas Test and Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition had satisfactory reliability across populations albeit limited numbers of studies. However, only ten studies examined the psychometric properties of ToM tasks in ASD adults, warranting additional evaluations. The study offered practical implications for selecting ToM tasks in research and clinical settings, and underscored the importance of having a robust psychometric reliability in ToM tasks across populations.

Superior temporal sulcus folding, functional network connectivity, and autistic-like traits in a non-clinical population.

Autistic-like traits (ALT) are prevalent across the general population and might be linked to some facets of a broader autism spectrum disorder (ASD) phenotype. Recent studies suggest an association of these traits with both genetic and brain structural markers in non-autistic individuals, showing similar spatial location of findings observed in ASD and thus suggesting a potential neurobiological continuum. In this study, we first tested an association of ALTs (assessed with the AQ questionnaire) with cortical complexity, a cortical surface marker of early neurodevelopment, and then the association with disrupted functional connectivity. We analysed structural T1-weighted and resting-state functional MRI scans in 250 psychiatrically healthy individuals without a history of early developmental disorders, in a first step using the CAT12 toolbox for cortical complexity analysis and in a second step we used regional cortical complexity findings to apply the CONN toolbox for seed-based functional connectivity analysis. Our findings show a significant negative correlation of both AQ total and AQ attention switching subscores with left superior temporal sulcus (STS) cortical folding complexity, with the former being significantly correlated with STS to left lateral occipital cortex connectivity, while the latter showed significant positive correlation of STS to left inferior/middle frontal gyrus connectivity (n = 233; all p < 0.05, FWE cluster-level corrected). Additional analyses also revealed a significant correlation of AQ attention to detail subscores with STS to left lateral occipital cortex connectivity. Phenotyping might affect association results (e.g. choice of inventories); in addition, our study was limited to subclinical expressions of autistic-like traits. Our findings provide further evidence for biological correlates of ALT even in the absence of clinical ASD, while establishing a link between structural variation of early developmental origin and functional connectivity.

Autistic traits linked to anxiety and dichotomous thinking: sensory sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty as mediators in non-clinical population

A recent theoretical cognitive model posits that three cognitive constructs—intolerance of uncertainty, lack of predictive processing, and dichotomous thinking—may interact with anxiety in autistic individuals. However, the interrelationships among these constructs remain unclear. We investigated this relationship in a non-clinical population using five questionnaires (Autism Spectrum Quotient, Glasgow Sensory Questionnaire, Short Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, and Dichotomous Thinking Inventory) and conducted a path analysis. Data were collected from 405 adults (aged 20–22 years) in Experiment 1 and 628 (aged 20–49 years) in Experiment 2. In both experiments, autistic traits were significantly associated with both anxiety and dichotomous thinking, mediated by intolerance of uncertainty. Autistic traits were linked to intolerance of uncertainty, mediated by atypical sensory processing. Furthermore, autistic traits were directly associated with anxiety. No direct association was observed between anxiety and dichotomous thinking. Our results confirm the validity of Stark’s cognitive model in a non-clinical population. These findings provide new insights into anxiety and dichotomous thinking and shed light on the cognitive styles of autistic individuals.

A network analysis of affective and motivational individual differences and error monitoring in a non-clinical sample.

Error monitoring, which plays a crucial role in shaping adaptive behavior, is influenced by a complex interplay of affective and motivational factors. Understanding these associations often proves challenging due to the intricate nature of these variables. With the aim of addressing previous inconsistencies and methodological gaps, in this study, we utilized network analysis to investigate the relationship between affective and motivational individual differences and error monitoring. We employed six Gaussian Graphical Models on a non-clinical population ($N$ = 236) to examine the conditional dependence between the amplitude of response-related potentials (error-related negativity; correct-related negativity) and 29 self-report measures related to anxiety, depression, obsessive thoughts, compulsive behavior, and motivation while adjusting for covariates: age, handedness, and latency of error-related negativity and correct-related negativity. We then validated our results on an independent sample of 107 participants. Our findings revealed unique associations between error-related negativity amplitudes and specific traits. Notably, more pronounced error-related negativity amplitudes were associated with increased rumination and obsessing, and decreased reward sensitivity. Importantly, in our non-clinical sample, error-related negativity was not directly associated with trait anxiety. These results underscore the nuanced effects of affective and motivational traits on error processing in healthy population.

Role of Microstructural White Matter Changes of Somatosensory Cortex in Stress Among Non-Clinical Population: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

Introduction: Stress is a common response to stressors or potential threats, resulting in physical, affective, and cognitive changes. Emotions are linked to interpretations of bodily alterations, with the somatosensory cortex, including the postcentral gyrus, playing a key role in emotional processing. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between stress and microstructural white matter changes in the somatosensory cortex among healthy adults, crucial for early detection and treatment of stress in non-clinical populations. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 participants were recruited. The participants were administered the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21) questionnaire. All subjects underwent MRI brain scanning, with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) used to assess white matter integrity. The association between stress scores in DASS-21 and DTI parameters was analyzed. Results: A significant negative correlation between stress scores and fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the left postcentral gyrus (r = -0.393, p = 0.32) was found, indicating early impairment by stress. No significant correlation was found in the right postcentral gyrus (r = -0.300, p = 0.107). Conclusion: Our research results demonstrated that the microstructural somatosensory cortex, especially the left postcentral gyrus, might have early changes impairment by stress using the technique of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Therefore, the microstructural white matter changes in the brain before suffering the disorder may be crucial and can be a novel potential biomarker for the early detection and intervention of the disease in the non-clinical population.

Validity Study of an Emotional Face-Database in Iranian Community

Objective: To investigate the accuracy of facial emotion recognition in the Iranian community, a face database validated in this community is required. To do this, we conducted a validation study on the Radboud face database. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of recognizing emotions through faces in an Iranian sample and then to choose the pictures with high agreement in terms of detecting emotions. Method: This is a cross sectional study recruiting a total number of 142 males and females aged between 20 and 50 years old (Mean ± SD of age 31.7 ± 7.07). The participants were instructed to detect the type of emotion of each face as well as its valence and arousal. The percentage of participants’ agreement on evaluating each picture was assessed. To evaluate the effect of different variables on participants’ accuracy, one way and repeated measure ANOVA analyses were also used. Results: Emotional faces were recognized by around 84% of the participants. The highest accuracy belongs to happy (Mean ± SD of 98 ± 6.1%) and the lowest one to neutral (75 ± 18.06%) faces. The accuracy for detecting other emotions were as follows: sad (91 ± 8.7%), surprised (87 ± 10.64%), angry (77 ± 15.6%), and fearful (76 ± 15.26%). Additionally, we found no differences between male and female participants in terms of recognizing emotions. Then we selected the pictures with high agreement (above 85 percent) in labeling emotions among the participants. Conclusion: The current study provided a valid emotional face database based on Iranian participants’ responses in terms of recognizing basic emotions. The selected pictures can be used in designing tasks to evaluate emotion recognition ability in clinical and nonclinical populations. It can also be used in designing applications to improve detecting emotion in clinical samples such as individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

Development and validation of a Disorganised Thoughts Scale: a new measure to assess thinking difficulties in the general population

BackgroundDisordered thinking is a condition that can manifest in not only clinical cases (e.g., psychotic disorders), but also the wider general population. However, there is no current method to measure the specific cognitive processes experienced during such a condition. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a new self-report measure, the Disorganised Thoughts Scale (DTS), that can assess disorganised thinking in the general population.MethodsTo achieve this aim, a survey was developed and shared online with four independent samples, including a sample of Australians in the general population (N = 321) and three samples (N = 200 each) that were controlled for their substance use (i.e., frequent alcohol and cannabis use; non-frequent substance use). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and reliability analyses, were used to test the internal validity, whilst correlational analyses were implemented to examine the external validity.ResultsThe exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure (10 items each) measuring Positive thought disorder (i.e., accelerated, uncontrollable, and incongruent thinking) and Negative thought disorder (i.e., inhibited, disjointed, and disorientated thinking). This internal structure was confirmed with subsequent confirmatory factor and reliability analyses (α = 0.90 to 0.97) in the three substance-controlled groups. Concurrent validity was also supported, as the DTS exhibited strong correlations with established measures of general cognitive difficulties, specific self-regulatory dysfunctions, and psychopathological symptomology. Finally, the measure was also shown to be significantly higher in cohorts who exhibited a higher degree of psychological distress and who frequently used substances (i.e., alcohol and cannabis).ConclusionsOverall, this study provided preliminary evidence to suggest that the DTS is a sound measure of disorganised thought that is linked to psychopathology and substance use in non-clinical populations. The measure could be used in future research which seeks to better understand how thinking effects, and is affected by, various psychological conditions.

Distinct cognitive and functional connectivity features from healthy cohorts can identify clinical obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Improving diagnostic accuracy of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) using models of brain imaging data is a key goal of the field, but this objective is challenging due to the limited size and phenotypic depth of clinical datasets. Leveraging the phenotypic diversity in large non-clinical datasets such as the UK Biobank (UKBB), offers a potential solution to this problem. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether classification models trained on non-clinical populations will generalise to individuals with clinical OCD. This question is also relevant for the conceptualisation of OCD; specifically, whether the symptomology of OCD exists on a continuum from normal to pathological. Here, we examined a recently published "meta-matching" model trained on functional connectivity data from five large normative datasets (N=45,507) to predict cognitive, health and demographic variables. Specifically, we tested whether this model could classify OCD status in three independent clinical datasets (N=345). We found that the model could identify out-of-sample OCD individuals. Notably, the most predictive functional connectivity features mapped onto known cortico-striatal abnormalities in OCD and correlated with genetic brain expression maps previously implicated in the disorder. Further, the meta-matching model relied upon estimates of cognitive functions, such as cognitive flexibility and inhibition, to successfully predict OCD. These findings suggest that variability in non-clinical brain and behavioural features can discriminate clinical OCD status. These results support a dimensional and transdiagnostic conceptualisation of the brain and behavioural basis of OCD, with implications for research approaches and treatment targets.