Neural and Behavioral Predictors of Treatment Efficacy on Mood Symptoms and Cognition in Mood Disorders: A Systematic Review

Background: The clinical and etiological heterogeneity of mood disorders impede identification of effective treatments for the individual patient. This highlights a need for early neuronal and behavioral biomarkers for treatment efficacy, which can provide a basis for more personalized treatments. The present systematic review aimed to identify the most consistent neuronal and behavioral predictors of treatment efficacy on mood symptoms and cognitive impairment in mood disorders.Methods: We identified and included 60 original peer-reviewed studies investigating neuroimaging and behavioral predictors of treatment efficacy within the domains of emotional and non-emotional cognition, structural neuroimaging, and resting state functional connectivity in patients with unipolar or bipolar disorder.Results: Lower baseline responsivity in limbic regions coupled with heightened medial and dorsal prefrontal responses to emotional stimuli were the most consistent predictors of response to pharmacotherapy for depression. In contrast, heightened limbic and ventral prefrontal reactivity to emotional stimuli seemed to predict efficacy of psychological interventions. Early modulation of fronto-limbic activity and reduction in negative bias were also associated with treatment response. Better performance on non-emotional tests at baseline was relatively consistently associated with efficacy on mood symptoms, whereas the association between neural activity during non-emotional tests and treatment response was less clear. Other baseline factors associated with treatment response were greater white matter integrity, resting state functional connectivity, more prefrontal gray matter volume as well as an early increase following short administered treatment. Finally, emerging evidence indicates that baseline cognitive deficits are associated with greater chances of achieving treatment efficacy on cognition.Conclusions: Patients' profile of emotional and non-emotional cognition and neural activity—and the early treatment-associated changes in neural and cognitive function—may be useful for guiding treatments for depression. While cognitive deficits at baseline seem to improve chances of treatment efficacy on cognition, more studies of this association are urgently needed

Strategisk mottaksplassering og treffsikker bosetting: tidlige grep for integrering av flyktninger i kommunene

Denne rapporten tar for seg to deloppdrag fra IMDi (Integrerings- og mangfoldsdirektoratet). Det ene delprosjektet handler om hvordan plasseringen av asylsøkere i statlige mottak kan planlegges og utføres på en måte som kan bedre integreringen etter bosetting. Det andre handler om hvordan bosetting av flyktninger i kommunene kan gjøres mer treffsikker. I begge delprosjektene har vi rettet oppmerksomheten mot arbeidsprosesser og samarbeid i forvaltningen

FOOD2GATHER: What is migrants’ food all about in Europe? A media discourse analysis through the lens of controversies

This report is part of the HERANET funded project FOOD2GATHER. The project aims at understanding the question of integration/exclusion of migrants through foodscapes. An important step in this direction is to analyse the contextual framework within which food-related practices, norms and values are embedded in European societies. Food controversies that have raised and have been reported in the media since the “2015 migrants’ crisis” across Europe can reveal important aspects related to such norms and values and indicate possible tensions and compromises. This report presents and discusses relevant food controversies that occurred in the six countries participating in the study (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, and the Netherlands). This will generate a contextual overview of the integration/exclusion of migrants through foodscapes. Controversy has been used as a tool and a scanner. Each of the six FOOD2GATHER teams provided two relevant controversies that have reached media attention in the last ten years. One of the two had to be related to halal food. The analysis of the controversies has been conducted by identifying issues they tackled, agents they involved, (public) spaces and situations in which controversies took place and what they produced. A comparative analysis of relevant variables related to migrations, such as the geopolitical position of the countries, organization of reception and food provision, has been conducted as well. The six countries included in the study have different traditions related to migration and have been exposed to the “migrants’ crisis” in different ways. These differences are reflected in the proposed controversies. However, some common traits tend to emerge and reveal power relationships within societies that are different or shared by the countries involved in the project. We show that these power relationships particularly deal with the right to food, citizens’ commitment, identity, the place of religion, animal welfare and political issues. Our study indicates that analysing controversies adds an important dimension to the study of foodscapes. Food controversies that reach the media attention are seldom something migrants have brought up themselves. The migrants’ representation in the media based on food controversies indicated that migrants are given little opportunity to negotiating values and practices, as norms about “the right” quantity and quality of food tend to reproduce the food model of the country they migrate to, also when there is a “positive” focus on ethnic business. To better understand these dynamics, we propose the concept of “food encounters” and illustrate how the type of food encounters can play a role in how foodscapes could evolve or even emerge

Affective cognition in bipolar disorder: A systematic review by the ISBD targeting cognition task force

Background: Impairments in affective cognition are part of the neurocognitive profile and possible treatment targets in bipolar disorder (BD), but the findings are heterogeneous. The International Society of Bipolar Disorder (ISBD) Targeting Cognition Task Force conducted a systematic review to (i) identify the most consistent findings in affective cognition in BD, and (ii) provide suggestions for affective cognitive domains for future study and meta‐analyses.Methods: The review included original studies reporting behavioral measures of affective cognition in BD patients vs controls following the procedures of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta‐Analysis (PRISMA) statement. Searches were conducted on PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsychInfo from inception until November 2018.Results: A total of 106 articles were included (of which nine included data for several affective domains); 41 studies assessed emotional face processing; 23 studies investigated reactivity to emotional words and images; 3 investigated explicit emotion regulation; 17 assessed implicit emotion regulation; 31 assessed reward processing and affective decision making. In general, findings were inconsistent. The most consistent findings were trait‐related difficulties in facial emotion recognition and implicit emotion regulation, and impairments in reward processing and affective decision making during mood episodes. Studies using eye‐tracking and facial emotion analysis revealed subtle trait‐related abnormalities in emotional reactivity.Conclusion: The ISBD Task Force recommends facial expression recognition, implicit emotion regulation, and reward processing as domains for future research and meta‐analyses. An important step to aid comparability between studies in the field would be to reach consensus on an affective cognition test battery for BD

The invisible pandemic of antimicrobial resistance and its possible endings

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is often framed as a ‘silent pandemic,’ an invisible crisis unfolding beyond the public gaze. This unseen emergency narrative fuels policy responses aimed at re-establishing human control over antimicrobial use and benefits. In this commentary, we critique the reduction of AMR to a homogenising framework – a product of long-standing paradigms for disease control and elimination. We argue that AMR stems not merely from microbial exposure to drugs, but also involves broader anthropocentric practices. We assert that merely extending AMR concerns to encompass environmental factors is insufficient. Instead, we advocate for a paradigm shift towards a holistic understanding that respects the evolutionary adaptability and survival strategies of microbial life itself. Consequently, a fundamental re-evaluation of large-scale antibiotic use and production is necessary. Rather than seeking to control AMR as a pandemic, we propose exploring the inherent complexity and interdependence of AMR issues. Our proposition advocates for alternative futures that foster collaborations between human and non-human actors, ultimately envisioning a shift in human-microbial relationships towards more integrative health strategies

Data_Sheet_1_Neural and Behavioral Predictors of Treatment Efficacy on Mood Symptoms and Cognition in Mood Disorders: A Systematic Review.PDF

<p>Background: The clinical and etiological heterogeneity of mood disorders impede identification of effective treatments for the individual patient. This highlights a need for early neuronal and behavioral biomarkers for treatment efficacy, which can provide a basis for more personalized treatments. The present systematic review aimed to identify the most consistent neuronal and behavioral predictors of treatment efficacy on mood symptoms and cognitive impairment in mood disorders.</p><p>Methods: We identified and included 60 original peer-reviewed studies investigating neuroimaging and behavioral predictors of treatment efficacy within the domains of emotional and non-emotional cognition, structural neuroimaging, and resting state functional connectivity in patients with unipolar or bipolar disorder.</p><p>Results: Lower baseline responsivity in limbic regions coupled with heightened medial and dorsal prefrontal responses to emotional stimuli were the most consistent predictors of response to pharmacotherapy for depression. In contrast, heightened limbic and ventral prefrontal reactivity to emotional stimuli seemed to predict efficacy of psychological interventions. Early modulation of fronto-limbic activity and reduction in negative bias were also associated with treatment response. Better performance on non-emotional tests at baseline was relatively consistently associated with efficacy on mood symptoms, whereas the association between neural activity during non-emotional tests and treatment response was less clear. Other baseline factors associated with treatment response were greater white matter integrity, resting state functional connectivity, more prefrontal gray matter volume as well as an early increase following short administered treatment. Finally, emerging evidence indicates that baseline cognitive deficits are associated with greater chances of achieving treatment efficacy on cognition.</p><p>Conclusions: Patients' profile of emotional and non-emotional cognition and neural activity—and the early treatment-associated changes in neural and cognitive function—may be useful for guiding treatments for depression. While cognitive deficits at baseline seem to improve chances of treatment efficacy on cognition, more studies of this association are urgently needed.</p

Strategisk mottaksplassering og treffsikker bosetting: tidlige grep for integrering av flyktninger i kommunene

Denne rapporten tar for seg to deloppdrag fra IMDi (Integrerings- og mangfoldsdirektoratet). Det ene delprosjektet handler om hvordan plasseringen av asylsøkere i statlige mottak kan planlegges og utføres på en måte som kan bedre integreringen etter bosetting. Det andre handler om hvordan bosetting av flyktninger i kommunene kan gjøres mer treffsikker. I begge delprosjektene har vi rettet oppmerksomheten mot arbeidsprosesser og samarbeid i forvaltningen