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The influence of Pavlovian conditioned stimuli on ongoing behavior may contribute to explaining how alcohol cues stimulate drug seeking and intake. Using a Pavlovian-instrumental transfer task, we investigated the effects of alcohol-related cues on approach behavior (i.e., instrumental response behavior) and its neural correlates, and related both to the relapse after detoxification in alcohol-dependent patients. Thirty-one recently detoxified alcohol-dependent patients and 24 healthy controls underwent instrumental training, where approach or non-approach towards initially neutral stimuli was reinforced by monetary incentives. Approach behavior was tested during extinction with either alcohol-related or neutral stimuli (as Pavlovian cues) presented in the background during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Patients were subsequently followed up for 6 months. We observed that alcohol-related background stimuli inhibited the approach behavior in detoxified alcohol-dependent patients (t = -3.86, p < .001), but not in healthy controls (t = -0.92, p = .36). This behavioral inhibition was associated with neural activation in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) (t((30)) = 2.06, p < .05). Interestingly, both the effects were only present in subsequent abstainers, but not relapsers and in those with mild but not severe dependence. Our data show that alcohol-related cues can acquire inhibitory behavioral features typical of aversive stimuli despite being accompanied by a stronger NAcc activation, suggesting salience attribution. The fact that these findings are restricted to abstinence and milder illness suggests that they may be potential resilience factors.
Genetic and environmental factors both contribute to cognitive test performance. A substantial increase in average intelligence test results in the second half of the previous century within one generation is unlikely to be explained by genetic changes. One possible explanation for the strong malleability of cognitive performance measure is that environmental factors modify gene expression via epigenetic mechanisms. Epigenetic factors may help to understand the recent observations of an association between dopamine-dependent encoding of reward prediction errors and cognitive capacity, which was modulated by adverse life events. The possible manifestation of malleable biomarkers contributing to variance in cognitive test performance, and thus possibly contributing to the "missing heritability" between estimates from twin studies and variance explained by genetic markers, is still unclear. Here we show in 1475 healthy adolescents from the IMaging and GENetics (IMAGEN) sample that general IQ (gIQ) is associated with (1) polygenic scores for intelligence, (2) epigenetic modification of DRD2 gene, (3) gray matter density in striatum, and (4) functional striatal activation elicited by temporarily surprising reward-predicting cues. Comparing the relative importance for the prediction of gIQ in an overlapping subsample, our results demonstrate neurobiological correlates of the malleability of gIQ and point to equal importance of genetic variance, epigenetic modification of DRD2 receptor gene, as well as functional striatal activation, known to influence dopamine neurotransmission. Peripheral epigenetic markers are in need of confirmation in the central nervous system and should be tested in longitudinal settings specifically assessing individual and environmental factors that modify epigenetic structure.
Genetic and environmental factors both contribute to cognitive test performance. A substantial increase in average intelligence test results in the second half of the previous century within one generation is unlikely to be explained by genetic changes. One possible explanation for the strong malleability of cognitive performance measure is that environmental factors modify gene expression via epigenetic mechanisms. Epigenetic factors may help to understand the recent observations of an association between dopamine-dependent encoding of reward prediction errors and cognitive capacity, which was modulated by adverse life events. The possible manifestation of malleable biomarkers contributing to variance in cognitive test performance, and thus possibly contributing to the "missing heritability" between estimates from twin studies and variance explained by genetic markers, is still unclear. Here we show in 1475 healthy adolescents from the IMaging and GENetics (IMAGEN) sample that general IQ (gIQ) is associated with (1) polygenic scores for intelligence, (2) epigenetic modification of DRD2 gene, (3) gray matter density in striatum, and (4) functional striatal activation elicited by temporarily surprising reward-predicting cues. Comparing the relative importance for the prediction of gIQ in an overlapping subsample, our results demonstrate neurobiological correlates of the malleability of gIQ and point to equal importance of genetic variance, epigenetic modification of DRD2 receptor gene, as well as functional striatal activation, known to influence dopamine neurotransmission. Peripheral epigenetic markers are in need of confirmation in the central nervous system and should be tested in longitudinal settings specifically assessing individual and environmental factors that modify epigenetic structure.
Psychiatrische Stationen sind ein wichtiges Element in der psychiatrischen Versorgung von Menschen mit akuter Eigen- oder Fremdgefährdung. Leider kommt es in diesem Rahmen immer wieder auch zu Aggression, Gewalt (Konflikten) sowie zur Anwendung von Zwang (Eindämmung). Als entscheidender Faktor für den sachgemäßen Umgang mit diesen Situationen wird sowohl die Quantität als auch die Qualität der Mitarbeitenden angesehen. Vor diesem Hintergrund beschäftigt sich die vorliegende Untersuchung mit der Versorgungssituation auf akutpsychiatrischen Stationen. Die Hypothese lautet, dass sowohl die Größe der akutpsychiatrischen Station als auch die Anzahl der Pflegenden einen Einfluss auf das Vorkommen konflikthafter Situationen haben. Hierfür sind Daten in 6 Kliniken auf insgesamt 12 psychiatrischen Stationen erfasst worden. Als Erfassungsinstrument diente die Patient Staff Conflict Checklist – Shift Report (PCC-SR). Insgesamt konnten 2026 Schichten (Früh‑, Spät- und Nachtschicht) erfasst und ausgewertet werden. Die personelle Besetzung der Stationen mit Pflegepersonal variierte erheblich. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sowohl die Stationsgröße als auch die Anzahl der Pflegepersonen auf akutpsychiatrischen Stationen einen signifikanten Einfluss auf das Vorkommen von Konflikten haben. In den Ergebnissen zeigt sich weiterhin, dass sich die Inzidenz des konflikthaften Verhaltens von Patienten sowohl im Hinblick auf die untersuchten Stationen der beteiligten Krankenhäuser als auch im Hinblick auf die betrachteten Dienstzeittypen unterscheiden. Darüber hinaus zeigt sich, dass das Ausmaß der Schließung einer Akutstation und die Größe einer Station einen negativen Einfluss auf die Inzidenz von Konflikten im stationär akutpsychiatrischen Kontext haben. Das Auftreten konflikthaften Verhaltens kann zur Fremd- oder Selbstgefährdung und zu einer Vielzahl deeskalierender und eindämmender Maßnahmen führen. Hierfür sind entsprechende personelle Ressourcen erforderlich.