Ruminative Response Research Articles

Depression and the susceptibility to anchoring bias

Abstract: Are depressive individuals more susceptible to anchoring effects? Does this susceptibility depend upon the affective nature of the event? Does individuals’ tendency to ruminative thinking have a role in these effects? We approach these questions by having participants (N=146) in a study perform an anchoring task (see Mussweiler & Strack, 2001) with neutral, negative, and depressive events, and subsequently indicate their level of depressive symptoms, via the Patient Health Questionnaire and levels of rumination via the Ruminative Response Scale. Results show anchoring effects to be stronger for neutral events than negative or depressive events. Both depression and rumination interfere positively with anchoring in such that the higher the levels of depression and rumination the higher the susceptibility to anchors. Both effects were shown to occur independently and not to be reliably moderated by the neutral, negative, or depressive nature of the events.

Is trait rumination associated with affective reactivity to the menstrual cycle? A prospective analysis.

A minority of naturally cycling individuals experience clinically significant affective changes across the menstrual cycle. However, few studies have examined cognitive and behavioral constructs that may maintain or worsen these changes. Several small studies link rumination with premenstrual negative affect, with authors concluding that a tendency to ruminate amplifies and perpetuates hormone-sensitive affective symptoms. Replication in larger samples is needed to confirm the validity of rumination as a treatment target. 190 cycling individuals (M = 30.82 years; 61.1% Caucasian) were recruited for moderate perceived stress, a risk factor for cyclical symptoms. They completed the Rumination Response Scale at baseline, then reported daily affective and physical symptoms across 1-6 cycles. Multilevel growth models tested trait rumination as a predictor of baseline levels, luteal increases, and follicular decreases in symptoms. The degree of affective cyclicity was normally distributed across a substantial range, supporting feasibility of hypothesis tests and validating the concept of dimensional hormone sensitivity. Contrary to prediction, higher brooding did not predict levels or cyclical changes of any symptom. In a subsample selected for luteal increases in negative affect, brooding predicted higher baseline negative affect but still did not predict affective cyclicity. An individual's trait-like propensity to engage in rumination may not be a valid treatment target in premenstrual mood disorders. State-like changes in rumination should still be further explored, and well-powered prospective studies should explore other cognitive and behavioral factors to inform development of targeted psychological treatments for patients with cyclical affective symptoms.

Cross-lagged analysis of rumination and social anxiety among Chinese college students

BackgroundSocial anxiety, which is widely prevalent among Chinese college students, poses a significant barrier to their holistic psychological and physiological development. Although numerous cross-sectional studies have examined the relationship between rumination and social anxiety, there is still a gap in understanding their interplay over time. This longitudinal study aimed to explore and analyze the intricate interrelations between these two factors, with the ultimate goal of informing the development of effective mental health education interventions for university students.MethodsUsing the Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS) and the Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS), a two-stage longitudinal follow-up study of 392 college students from three universities in Henan Province was conducted over a six-month period (October 2022 to March 2023) using a cross-lagged model to explore the correlation between rumination and social anxiety. The results of the correlation analysis showed that rumination was positively associated with social anxiety at both time points (r = 0.18,0.12, p < 0.01).ResultsCross-lagged regression analyses revealed that the predictive effect of the first measure (T1) rumination on the second measure (T2) rumination was statistically significant (β = 0.32, p < 0.001). The predictive effect of T1 social anxiety on T2 social anxiety was statistically significant (β = 0.65, p < 0.001), the predictive effect of T1 rumination on T2 social anxiety was statistically significant (β = 0.33, p < 0.001), and the prediction of T1 social anxiety on T2 rumination was statistically significant (β = 0.28, p < 0.001).ConclusionCollege students’ rumination and social anxiety are mutually predictive of each other, and interventions by educators in either of these areas have the potential to interrupt the vicious cycle between ruminant thinking and social anxiety.

Multi-ethnic variation in the ties that bind rumination and heart rate variability: Implications for health disparities.

Higher self-reported rumination, a common form of trait perseverative cognition, is linked with lower resting heart rate variability (HRV), which indicates poorer cardiac function and greater disease risk. A meta-analysis and systematic review indicated that in samples with fewer European Americans, the association of rumination with both heart rate and blood pressure was stronger. Thus, trait rumination may be more strongly associated with resting HRV among ethnically minoritized populations. The current study investigated whether differences in the association of self-reported rumination with resting HRV varied by ethnicity in a sample (N=513; Mage=19.41; 226 Women) of self-identified African Americans (n=110), Asian Americans (n=84), and European Americans (n=319). Participants completed a five-minute baseline period to assess resting HRV, followed by the Ruminative Responses Scale, which contains three facets of rumination including brooding, depressive, and reflective rumination. On average, Asian Americans reported higher levels of rumination relative to European Americans. African Americans had higher resting HRV than Asian Americans. Adjusting for covariates, higher self-reported rumination was significantly associated with lower resting HRV in both African and Asian Americans, but not significantly so in European Americans. This finding was consistent for brooding and reflective, but not depressive rumination. Overall, this study lends insight into a psychological mechanism-rumination-that may impact health disparities among ethnically minoritized individuals, contributing to an understanding of how stress gets under the skin among such minoritized populations.

Impact of helminth infections on clinical and epidemiological features of microbial infections, and vaccine responses in ruminants: a systematic review.

Abstract Helminth infections are ubiquitous in animal populations, and their interactions with concurrent or subsequent microbial infections can alter clinical and epidemiological features of infectious diseases and outcomes of vaccines. We used the PRISMA 2009 guidelines to conduct a systematic review of helminth-microbial-pathogen interactions and their impact on epidemiology and clinical outcomes of microbial infections in ruminants. Of the 1,375 probable studies identified through Google Scholar and PubMed databases, 20 studies met our inclusion criteria and were qualitatively analysed. Fourteen studies were on domestic ruminants, while six were on African buffaloes. Individual helminths investigated were Fasciola hepatica (six studies) Haemonchus contortus (three studies), Ostertagia ostertagi (one study) and Dicrocoelium dendriticum (one study), while the rest looked at gastrointestinal nematodes in general. Thirteen studies evaluated interactions between helminths and bovine tuberculosis (BTB), trypanosomes and theileria pathogens while four focused on responses to vaccination against rabies, bovine respiratory pathogens and Bacillus of Calmette-Guérin. Helminths interacted with Trypanosoma spp , Mycobacterium bovis , Theileria parva synergistically to aggravate clinical anaemia as measured by PCV and mortality. Furthermore, concurrent helminth infections were reported to lower the sensitivity of BTB diagnostic tests, but they did not appear to affect antibody responses to vaccines. We envision that helminths may interact with microbial pathogens in a number of ways, but primarily through immune pathways to modify clinical and epidemiological features of infections in ruminants. The implications of these interactions include missed diagnosis, underestimation of disease burden and increased severity of disease outcomes.

The Effectiveness of Emotion Focused Group Therapy (EFT) on Rumination and Emotional Expression in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Aim: Multiple sclerosis is a progressive neurological disease. This disease has many negative and positive effects on the physical and mental health of patients. The aim of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of emotion focused group therapy (EFT) on emotional expression and rumination in patients with multiple sclerosis in Shiraz. Method: The statistical population of this research includes all patients with M. S. In the city of Shiraz in 1401, their diagnosis was confirmed by a neurologist based on McDonald's 2017 criteria. After identifying patients with MS. 30 people who met the criteria for entering the research were selected purposefully and randomly and in equal numbers were placed in an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group underwent emotion focused group therapy sessions during 8 sessions of 90 minutes. During this period, the control group remained waiting without receiving any intervention. The main data of this research was obtained using Nolenhoeksma and Maro (1991) rumination questionnaires and King and Emmons (1962) emotional expressiveness questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (variance analysis with repeated measurements) were used in data analysis. Findings: Data analysis showed that after the implementation of the intervention, there was a significant difference between the control and experimental groups in both variables of emotional expression and rumination (P&lt;0.05). A significant difference was observed in emotional expression components (positive emotion expression, sincerity expression and negative emotion expression) and rumination components (rumination responses and distracting responses) between patients with multiple sclerosis in the experimental and control groups (05 /0&gt;P). Conclusion: The use of emotion-oriented therapy is a suitable intervention to improve emotional expression and rumination in multiple sclerosis patients and can be used to improve psychological status and better cope with the disease.

The effectiveness of behavioral activation therapy on the symptoms of depression, rumination, and social-occupational functioning impairment among women with postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression is caused by a wide range of factors, and women in their postpartum period are highly vulnerable, either physically or emotionally. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of behavioral activation therapy on the symptoms of depression, rumination, and social-occupational functioning impairment among women with postpartum depression (PPD). This quasi-experimental research included a pre-test, a post-test, and a one-month follow-up, as well as experimental and control groups. The participants were screened using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS) in 2019. The research included 32 women who had visited Isfahan Healthcare Centers. They were selected using convenience sampling and then randomly divided into experimental (16 individuals) and control groups (16 individuals). Both groups answered the following questionnaires before, immediately after, and one month after the intervention: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Nelon, et al. Ruminative Response Scale, and Mundt et al. Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS). The experimental group received behavioral activation therapy for nine 90-minute sessions once a week. The data were analyzed using the statistical method of multivariance analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The results showed that behavioral activation therapy had a significant effect on the symptoms of depression (P = 0.001, F = 79.65), postpartum depression (P = 0.001, F = 220.359), rumination (P = 0.001, F = 121.765), and social-occupational functioning impairment (P = 0.001, F = 368.512) among women with postpartum depression. The effects of behavioral activation therapy also lasted in the follow-up stage of the study. According to the present research, behavioral activation therapy is an effective method that decreases the symptoms of depression, rumination, and occupational-social functioning impairment among women with postpartum depression. Therefore, behavioral activation therapy could be beneficial to intervention designs and treatment of postpartum depression.

Comparison of the Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program with Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Stress and Rumination in Adolescents with Cancer

Objective: Considering the necessity to identify effective interventions to improve stress and rumination in students, the current study aimed to compare the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on stress and rumination in adolescents with cancer. Methods and Materials: The research method was a quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test with a control group design. The research population included all adolescents with cancer at Mahak Hospital in Tehran, from which 40 individuals were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to three groups (1- Mindfulness-based stress reduction training; 2- Transcranial direct current stimulation intervention; 3- A combined method of mindfulness-based stress reduction with transcranial direct current stimulation) and one control group. The instruments for data collection included the Lovibond and Lovibond's (1995) Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale and the Ruminative Response Scale about an interpersonal upset (2008). For data analysis, one-way analysis of covariance, repeated measures analysis of variance, and the least significant difference post-hoc test were used. Findings: The results of the covariance analysis along with the post-hoc tests showed that there is no significant difference between the mindfulness-based stress reduction method and tDCS in reducing stress levels (P&gt;0.05), and only the difference between these methods compared to the control group was significant (P&lt;0.05). In terms of the effectiveness of the interventions under study on stress levels, the combined method was more effective than using each method separately. Regarding the rumination variable, there was no significant difference between the mindfulness-based stress reduction method and the tDCS method in reducing the level of rumination (P&gt;0.05), and only the difference of this mindfulness method compared to the control group was significant (P&lt;0.05). The results of the repeated measures analysis of variance along with the post-hoc tests indicated that there were no significant differences between the post-test and follow-up stages for stress and rumination variables (P&gt;0.05); hence, the results were stable. Conclusion: Based on the results of the current study, counseling and psychology units established in hospitals and oncology clinics need to be more aware of the mental health of adolescents with cancer and should use the combined method of mindfulness-based stress reduction with tDCS to improve stress and rumination in adolescents with cancer.

Worry and ruminative brooding: associations with cognitive and physical health in older adults.

Mental health conditions are associated with cognition and physical function in older adults. We examined whether worry and ruminative brooding, key symptoms of certain mental health conditions, are related to subjective and/or objective measures of cognitive and physical (cardiovascular) health. We used baseline data from 282 participants from the SCD-Well and Age-Well trials (178 female; agemean = 71.1 years). We measured worry and ruminative brooding using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire and the Ruminative Response Scale-brooding subscale. We assessed subjective physical health using the WHOQOL-Bref physical subscale, and objective physical health via blood pressure and modified versions of the Framingham Risk Score and Charlson Comorbidity Index. With subjective and objective cognition, we utilized the Cognitive Difficulties Scale and a global composite (modified Preclinical Alzheimer's Cognitive Composite, PACC5, with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV, category fluency, Mattis Dementia Rating Scale-2, and either the California Verbal Learning Test or the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test). We conducted linear regressions, adjusted for education, age, sex and cohort. Worry and ruminative brooding were negatively associated with subjective physical health (worry: β = -0.245, 95%CI -0.357 to -0.133, p < 0.001; ruminative brooding: β = -0.224, 95%CI -0.334 to -0.113, p < 0.001) and subjective cognitive difficulties (worry: β = 0.196, 95%CI 0.091 to 0.302, p < 0.001; ruminative brooding: β = 0.239, 95%CI 0.133 to 0.346, p < 0.001). We did not observe associations between worry or ruminative brooding and any measure of objective health. Worry and ruminative brooding may be common mechanisms associated with subjective but not objective health. Alternatively, cognitively unimpaired older adults may become aware of subtle changes not captured by objective measures used in this study. Interventions reducing worry and ruminative brooding may promote subjective physical and cognitive health; however, more research is needed to determine causality of the relationships.

Associations Between Repetitive Negative Thinking and Objective and Subjective Sleep Health in Cognitively Healthy Older Adults.

Poor sleep and high levels of repetitive negative thinking (RNT), including future-directed (ie, worry) and past-directed (ie, brooding) negative thoughts, have been associated with markers of dementia risk. The relationship between RNT and sleep health in older adults is unknown. This study aimed to investigate this association and its specificities including multiple dimensions of objective and subjective sleep. This study used a cross sectional quantitative design with baseline data from 127 cognitively healthy older adults (mean age 69.4 ± 3.8 years; 63% female) who took part in the Age-Well clinical trial, France. RNT (ie, worry and brooding) levels were measured using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire and the Rumination Response Scale (brooding subscale). Polysomnography was used to assess sleep objectively, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire were used to measure sleep subjectively. In primary analyses the associationsbetween RNT and sleep (ie, objective sleep duration, fragmentation and efficiency and subjective sleep disturbance) were assessed via adjusted regressions. Higher levels of RNT were associated with poorer objective sleep efficiency (worry: β=-0.32, p<0.001; brooding: β=-0.26, p=0.002), but not objective sleep duration, fragmentation, or subjective sleep disturbance. Additional analyses, however, revealed differences in levels of worry between those with short, compared with typical and long objective sleep durations (p < 0.05). In cognitively healthy older adults, RNT was associated with sleep characteristics that have been implicated in increased dementia risk. It will take additional research to ascertain the causal link between RNT and sleep characteristics and how they ultimately relate to the risk of developing dementia.

Predicting Organizational Commitment by Rumination

This study aimed to explore the relationship between rumination and organizational commitment, focusing on how rumination mediates the impact of various workplace factors on employees' commitment to their organization. Employing a cross-sectional design, the study gathered data from 350 participants across diverse industries using the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) and the Nolen-Hoeksema Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS). Linear regression analysis was conducted using SPSS Version 27 to examine the predictive relationship between rumination (independent variable) and organizational commitment (dependent variable), controlling for demographic variables. The analysis revealed that rumination significantly predicts organizational commitment, accounting for 44% of the variance in commitment levels (R² = 0.44, adjusted R² = 0.40, F = 8.39, p &lt; 0.01). Higher levels of rumination were associated with lower organizational commitment, indicating that rumination negatively impacts employees' attachment and loyalty to their organization. The study confirms the significant mediating role of rumination in the relationship between workplace factors and organizational commitment. Addressing rumination through targeted interventions could enhance organizational commitment, suggesting the need for organizational strategies that mitigate negative thought patterns among employees.

Metacognition and Interpersonal Sensitivity: A Mediational of Rumination Study in Pakistani Sample

Metacognition is changing, interpreting, and managing one's ideas and thoughts. Rumination and depression are predicted by having specific problematic metacognitive beliefs. The focus of this study was to explore rumination's mediating role in the association between metacognition and interpersonal sensitivity. It included 304 participants selected through convenient sampling from different cities in Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 304 participants were from various schools, colleges, universities, training centers, and Academies of Malakwal, Sargodha, Lahore, Faisalabad, Phalia, and Islamabad. Three scales have been demonstrated to test the hypotheses: Metacognitive Self-Assessment Scale, Ruminative Response Scale, and Interpersonal Sensitivity Measure. Findings suggest a significant positive relationship between interpersonal sensitivity and metacognition. Rumination partially mediated the association between metacognition and interpersonal sensitivity. Various patterns of correlations that surfaced throughout this investigation are thought to have significant practical relevance. Future studies should go deeper into the connection between these constructs.

Ruminatif Düşünme ve Depresif Belirtiler Arasındaki İlişkide Cinsiyetin Etkisi

Rumination means dealing with one's own feelings and thoughts passively and repetitively. There are two types of rumination: reflection, and brooding. Rumination prepares a suitable ground for many mental disorders, especially depression. The incidence of depressive symptoms in women was reported to be higher than in men. It has been claimed that the frequency and severity of depression may be increasing due to rumination since rumination is also higher in women. Studies in the literature have often progressed on a single type of rumination, brooding. Reflection is often considered a positive coping style and protective because it is related to problem solving, but inconsistent results have been obtained in studies on the effect on depression. In our study, we aimed to examine the effect of gender on depression by considering reflection and brooding separately instead of evaluating rumination only through brooding. Two hundred and twenty-seven university students were invited to the study, and 196 of them agreed to participate in the study. A sociodemographic form, ruminative responses scale, and patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) were applied to the participants who accepted the study. Correlation analyses and linear regression were applied to the obtained data. Brooding and reflection scores were positively correlated with the PHQ-9 scores. Women got higher scores in brooding and reflection scales than men. Women got higher scores in PHQ-9 than men but it is not significant statistically. In linear regression analyses, brooding and reflection scores positively significantly predicted PHQ-9 scores. Women have higher depressive symptoms and are considered more ruminative, but only ruminative thinking (both brooding and reflection) can predict depressive symptoms. Interventions targeting both brooding and maladaptive reflection are recommended to treat major depression.

Mindfulness and negative emotions among Chinese college students: chain mediation effect of rumination and resilience.

This study examines the mediation effect of rumination and resilience between the relationship of mindfulness and negative emotions in Chinese college students. A total of 3,038 college students (19.94 ± 1.10) were investigated by Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MASS), Rumination Response Style Scale (RRS), Resilience Scale (RES) and Depression-anxiety-pressure scale (DASS-21), and the mediation analyses were conducted by adopting PROCESS macro in the SPSS software. ① Mindfulness was negatively associated with rumination and negative emotions (r = -0.69, -0.72; P < 0.01), and positively associated with resilience (r = 0.63, P < 0.01). Rumination was negatively associated with resilience (r = -0.59, P < 0.01), and positively associated with negative emotions (r = 0.83, P < 0.01). Resilience was negatively associated with negative emotions (r = -0.71, P < 0.01). ② Mindfulness can not only directly predict negative emotions (95%CI, -0.12~-0.09) but also affects negative emotions through three indirect paths: Rumination was a mediator (95%CI, -0.24~-0.20), resilience was a mediator (95%CI, -0.07~-0.06), and resilience and rumination were a chain mediator (95%CI, -0.04 ~ -0.03). Mindfulness not only influences negative emotions directly, but also through the mediating effect of rumination and resilience indirectly.

Electroconvulsive therapy enhances degree centrality in the orbitofrontal cortex in depressive rumination

Depressive rumination has been implicated in the onset, duration, and treatment response of refractory depression. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is remarkably effective in treatment of refractory depression by modulating the functional coordination between brain hubs. However, the mechanisms by which ECT regulates depressive rumination remain unsolved. We investigated degree centrality (DC) in 32 pre- and post-ECT depression patients as well as 38 matched healthy controls. An identified brain region was defined as the seed to calculate functional connectivity (FC) in whole brains. Rumination was measured by the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) and its relationships with identified DC and FC alterations were examined. We found a significant negative correlation between DC of the right orbitofrontal cortex (rOFC) before ECT and brooding level before and after treatment. Moreover, rOFC DC increased after ECT. DC of the left superior temporal gyrus (lSTG) was positively correlated with reflective level before intervention, while lSTG DC decreased after ECT. Patients showed elevated FC in the rOFC with default mode network. No significant association was found between decreased RRS scores and changes in DC and FC. Our findings suggest that functional changes in rOFC and lSTG may be associated with the beneficial effects of ECT on depressive rumination.

Excessive mind wandering, rumination, and mindfulness mediate the relationship between ADHD symptoms and anxiety and depression in adults with ADHD.

Persistent mind-wandering processes are associated with negative emotions; however, mindful states exhibit an anticorrelation with mind-wandering patterns. The aim of this study is to investigate the mediating role of excessive mind wandering (EMW), rumination, and trait mindfulness between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and the severity of anxiety/depression in adults with ADHD. Medication-free 159 adults diagnosed with ADHD completed a test battery that included a sociodemographic form as well as the Adult ADHD Severity Rating Scale, Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, Mind Excessively Wandering Scale, Ruminative Response Scale, and Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory after the diagnostic examination according to the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5-Clinician Version (SCID-5). ADHD symptoms exhibited an indirect, but not a direct, association with the severity of anxiety and depression, mediated by increased excessive mind wandering and rumination, as well as decreased trait mindfulness. This study was carried out within a clinical population using a cross-sectional design. While diagnostic assessments were conducted using SCID-5, psychiatric symptoms were evaluated through self-report measures. Coping with EMW and rumination and promoting mindfulness ability may be promising targets in treating comorbid conditions in adults with ADHD. These findings have highlighted the effects of mentation processes on depression and anxiety, which are common comorbidities with ADHD in adults; however, longitudinal studies are needed.

Associations between ruminative brooding and white matter change amongst healthy middle‐aged and older adults

AbstractBackgroundRepetitive Negative Thinking (RNT) includes negative thoughts about the future (worry) and past (ruminative brooding). RNT has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology (Marchant et al. Alzheimers Dement. 2020;16(7)) and different patterns of functional connectivity of the triple network of attention, namely, the default mode, executive control and anterior salience networks (Solé‐Padullés et al. Front Aging Neurosci. 2022;14). However, the association between RNT and white matter microstructure is unclear (Demnitz‐King et al. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2021;316) and no existing studies have examined this association longitudinally among non‐clinical adults.MethodHealthy adults (age range: 50‐70, 51.2% women) from the Barcelona Brain Health Initiative (Cattaneo et al. Front Aging Neurosci. 2018 11;10) completed the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ), Rumination Response Scale (RRS), and Penn‐State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) at baseline to measure RNT levels. Participants underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with T1 and T2‐weighted acquisitions to assess volume of white matter hypointensities (WMH) at baseline (N = 588) and two years later (N = 425). Change in WMH was computed taking into account time interval between scans. Stepwise linear regression analyses were conducted to investigate associations between change in WMH and baseline age, sex, PTQ, PSWQ and RRS subscale scores (brooding, reflection and depression).ResultBaseline age (t = 3.71, p&lt;0.0001) and brooding (t = 2.82, p = 0.005) were associated with increased WMH across scans (see partial regression plots, Fig 1A/B). No cross‐sectional associations were observed between volume of WMH and RNT‐related variables.ConclusionBrooding was associated with increase of WMH in healthy adults. Brooding, a maladaptive form of emotion regulation, enhances repetitive focus on one’s distress and is associated with altered connectivity of attentional networks and greater asymmetry of the Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus in depressed adults (Pisner et al. Neuroimage Clin. 2019;24). Our results are of importance considering that: WMH correlate with CSF‐amyloid in cognitively unimpaired older adults (Wei et al. Brain Behav. 2019;9(12)) and this is the first longitudinal study focusing on white matter change as related to psychological variables linked to cognitive decline and AD‐related pathology. The putative impact of psychological factors on brain integrity can be detected even at sub‐clinical levels and in earlier stages within the dementia continuum.

Effects of Rumen Fermentation Characteristics on Stress-Related Hormones and Behavior in Sheep

This study investigated the relationship between rumen fermentation, stress-related hormones, and behavior in sheep with the aim of providing insights for improving animal welfare and feed management practices. Eight lambs were assigned to either a high concentration or control group. Blood samples were collected for hormone analysis, and an open field test was conducted to observe behavioral stress responses. The results showed that diet composition may affect the behavior of ruminants in response to stressors and novel situations, as evidenced by the higher number of escape attempts in the high-concentration group. In addition, analyses of individual volatile fatty acids (VFAs) showed a significant positive correlation between the acetic acid/propionic acid ratio and sniffing behavior of the novel object (p &lt; 0.05, ρ = −0.414). These findings have important implications for animal welfare and feed management practices. Overall, this study provides insights into the potential impact of diet composition on the behavior of ruminants in response to stressors and novel situations, highlighting the importance of improving animal welfare through feed management practices. Further research is needed to fully elucidate the mechanisms underlying the complex relationship between rumen fermentation, stress-related hormones, and behavior in ruminant animals.

Depression and bedtime procrastination: Chain mediation of brooding and perceived stress

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between depression and bedtime procrastination (BP), and the mediating effect of the brooding and perceived stress (PS). Based on the self-regulatory failure theory of procrastination in a temporal context and response styles theory, we constructed a chain mediation model. Total of 1136 participants (389 males and 747 females) completed the online questionnaire. In the present study, the participants were asked to fill The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Bedtime Procrastination Scale (BPS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS). The results showed that high level of depression positively affected brooding, and high level of brooding further positively affected PS, thus leading to BP. However, we did not find the mediating effect of brooding between depression and BP. This indicated that mood plays an important role in the mechanism of depression's effect on BP. The findings revealed pathways between depression and BP and was of great significance for the intervention of BP.

The moderating effect of resting heart rate variability on the relationship between pain catastrophizing and depressed mood: an empirical study

Previous research indicated that pain catastrophizing—a negative emotional and cognitive response toward actual or anticipated pain—could contribute to pain intensity and could be associated with depressive symptoms not just in chronic pain patients but in healthy population as well. Accumulated evidence suggests that resting heart rate variability (HRV) as a putative proxy of emotion regulation could moderate the association of self-reported pain catastrophizing and depressed mood. In the present cross-sectional study, we investigated these associations in a healthy young adult sample controlling for the effect of trait rumination. Seventy-two participants (58 females, mean age = 22.2 ± 1.79 years ranging from 19 to 28 years old) completed the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale and the Ruminative Response Scale. Resting HRV was measured by time domain metric of HRV, the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD). The results showed that the relationship between pain catastrophizing and depressive symptoms is significantly moderated by resting HRV (indexed by lnRMSSD). Specifically, in participants with higher resting HRV there was no significant relationship between the two investigated variables, while in participants with relatively low or medium HRV pain catastrophizing and depressed mood showed significant positive association. The relationship remained significant after controlling for sex, age and trait rumination. These results might indicate that measuring pain catastrophizing and depressive symptoms is warranted in non-clinical samples as well and higher resting HRV could have a buffer or protective role against depressive symptoms.