Correlates of Depressive Disorders in the Quebec General Population 6 to 14 Years of Age

There are relatively few community-based epidemiological studies in which correlates of depressive disorders were identified through multivariate analyses in children and adolescents aged 6--14 years. Moreover, several family characteristics (e.g., parent-child relationship) have never been explored in this regard. The purpose of this study was twofold. Using data from the Quebec Child Mental Health Survey, it sought: (1) to identify psychosocial correlates associated with depressive disorder in two age-groups (6--11 and 12-14 years) according to informant (child/adolescent, parent); and (2) to interpret the relative importance of correlates by ranking variables according to strength and consistency of association across age-groups. Logistic regression models show correlates to be inconsistent across informants. The ranking of correlates indicates a major contribution of only-child status/ordinal position, parent's major depressive disorder, stressful family events, and parent-child relationship, thereby supporting the hypothesis of the relevance of family context in the development of depression.     

Intrinsic and extrinsic factors associated with night waking in 9-month-old infants

This study examined relations between infant night waking and both daytime behaviors reflective of poor behavioral and emotional regulation (intrinsic factors) and parent behaviors that may contribute to infant night waking (extrinsic factors) in 41 infants. Mothers completed questionnaires and an infant sleep and crying diary. More time awake at night was related to separation distress, frequent daytime crying, dysregulation, co-sleeping with parents, breast feeding, and being put to bed asleep. More frequent waking was related to separation distress, frequent daytime crying, co-sleeping, and breast feeding. The combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors predicted night waking better than behaviors from one category alone. Implications for parenting are discussed.     

Inducing lucid dreams by olfactory-cued reactivation of reality testing during early-morning sleep: A proof of concept

The reliable induction of lucid dreams is a challenge in lucid dream research. In a previous study by our research group we were able to induce in about 50% of the participants a lucid dream in a single sleep laboratory night by combining a wake-up-back-to-bed sleep protocol and a mnemonic technique. In the present study, we extended our previous procedure by additional presentation of an odor during sleep to reactivate memory traces about reality testing. In total 16 male participants spent a single night in the sleep lab whereas the procedure induced in two participants a lucid dream (12.5%). The induction rate stays below the success rate of our previous study and therefore odor-cueing seems not a promising technique for inducing lucid dreams. Beside the odor presentation, several other methodological changes have been made, which will be discussed and hopefully help further dream engineering to improve induction techniques.     

Sleep fragmentation and lucid dreaming

Lucid dreaming—the phenomenon of experiencing waking levels of self-reflection within one’s dreams—is associated with more wake-like levels of neural activation in prefrontal brain regions. In addition, alternating periods of wakefulness and sleep might increase the likelihood of experiencing a lucid dream. Here we investigate the association between sleep fragmentation and lucid dreaming, with a multi-centre study encompassing four different investigations into subjective and objective measures of sleep fragmentation, nocturnal awakenings, sleep quality and polyphasic sleep schedules. Results across these four studies provide a more nuanced picture into the purported connection between sleep fragmentation and lucid dreaming: While self-assessed numbers of awakenings, polyphasic sleep and physiologically validated wake-REM sleep transitions were associated with lucid dreaming, neither self-assessed sleep quality, nor physiologically validated numbers of awakenings were. We discuss these results, and their underlying neural mechanisms, within the general question of whether sleep fragmentation and lucid dreaming share a causal link.     

Three consecutive nights of sleep loss: Effects of morning caffeine consumption on subjective sleepiness/alertness,reaction time and simulated driving performance

Caffeinated products are often consumed as a popular countermeasure to the effects of sleep loss. However, the efficacy of caffeine to exert these effects after consecutive nights of sleep loss is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of three consecutive nights of restricted sleep and morning caffeine consumption on subjective ratings of sleepiness/alertness, reaction time, and simulated driving performance. Twenty healthy, habitual caffeine consumers (11 females; age: 23.3 ± 5.7 y; BMI: 22.3 ± 3.5 kg⋅m⁻²; caffeine intake: 204 ± 89 mg⋅day⁻¹; Mean ± SD) who had normal sleeping patterns (≥8 h⋅night⁻¹) participated in this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised study. Following one night of normal sleep (≥8 h time in bed (TIB)), participants underwent three consecutive nights of restricted sleep (5 h TIB). Participants received caffeine (200 mg; n = 10) or placebo (n = 10) capsules each morning and all participants received caffeine (100 mg) capsules each afternoon. Subjective ratings of alertness, concentration and tiredness were measured before and 1 h after morning capsule administration. Choice Reaction Time (CRT) was examined 1 h after morning capsule administration, with response speed and accuracy as outcome variables. Driving performance was assessed using a 30 min simulated driving task, with lateral (standard deviation of lane position [SDLP]; total number of line crossings [LC]) and longitudinal (standard deviation of speed [SDSP]) measures of vehicle control as outcome variables. Alertness and concentration significantly decreased, and tiredness increased across the three days of sleep loss. Caffeine only marginally alleviated these effects. No differences were observed between treatments or across trial days for response speed and accuracy on the CRT task. Likewise, no significant differences were observed between groups or across trial days for any measures of simulated driving performance. Overall, results from this study indicate that three consecutive days of sleep loss influence subjective ratings of alertness, concentration and tiredness, but does not alter CRT or simulated driving performance. Caffeine may alleviate some of the negative subjective effects imposed by restricted sleep, but the efficacy of caffeine to attenuate performance changes in CRT and driving performance were unable to be observed.     

Development and validation of the Eating Disorders Screen for Athletes (EDSA): A brief screening tool for male and female athletes

ObjectivesTo develop and validate the Eating Disorders Screen for Athletes (EDSA), a brief eating disorders screening tool for use in both male and female athletes. Methods: Data from Division I athletes at a Midwestern university (N = 434) were used to conduct exploratory factor analysis (EFA) by gender. Data from athletes competing at various levels at universities across the United States (N = 862) were then used to conduct confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis by gender. Athletes from a range of lean and non-lean sports were included. Gender-specific empirically derived cut-offs on the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire were used to classify high eating disorder risk for ROC curve analysis. Measurement invariance by gender, level of competition, and sport type was also examined. Results: A six-item, one-factor structure for the EDSA was supported by EFA and CFA in both genders, and internal consistency was good for both male (α = 0.80) and female athletes (α = 0.86). ROC curve analyses indicated that the EDSA was highly accurate in predicting eating disorder risk status and identified a score of 3.33 as the optimal cut-off for both male (sensitivity = 0.96, specificity = .80) and female athletes (sensitivity = 0.96, specificity = .64). Results also supported strong measurement invariance for the EDSA by gender, level of competition (Division I versus club), and sport type (lean versus non-lean). Conclusions: The EDSA shows promise as a brief screening tool to identify male and female athletes at risk for eating disorders.     

Sleep-competing behaviours among Australian school-attending youth: Associations with sleep,mental health and daytime functioning

Sleep problems are highly prevalent among school-attending youth, and impact on school performance and outcomes. Sleep-competing behaviours are likely factors in the inadequate sleep time and related functional outcomes observed in this population. We examined a range of sleep-competing behaviours and their associations with sleep variables in Australian school-attending youth. We also assessed whether these behaviours indirectly affected mental health and daytime functioning through poorer sleep quality. A total of 353 school-attending youth (mean age = 14.6 years, 53% female) were recruited from high schools in Australia, and completed a range of self-report measures. Approximately 50% of the youth obtained sub-optimal levels of sleep and reported having a problematically long sleep onset latency. Sleep competing behaviours, related and unrelated to electronic media use, were reported as occurring frequently, and were associated with a range of sleep variables. These behaviours were also related to poorer mental health and daytime sleepiness, with this association explained by indirect effects through sleep quality. Sleep-competing behaviours are prevalent on school nights in Australian youth, and may have adverse associations with mental health and functioning. Prevention and intervention programs might address the risk factors identified in the current study.     

脊柱疾患临床诊断的辩证思维

脊柱外科是骨科学的一个亚专科,也是外科学领域中发展最为迅速的一个分支学科。脊柱外科疾患的正确诊断有赖于诊断过程中的正确辩证思维。在临床诊断思维中,从疾病学角度和症状学角度,需要正确处理几个辨证关系,同时要避免临床思维常见误区,才能提高诊断正确性。     

A disgust mood state causes a negative interpretation bias, but not in the specific domain of body-related concerns

The present study was designed to examine the effects of a disgust mood state on negative interpretation bias, in particular in the domain of body and weight concerns. Participants (N = 120) were randomly assigned to one of four mood induction groups (i.e., disgust, anxiety, happy, and neutral) and were afterwards asked to respond to various types of ambiguous scenarios to index general threat interpretations, negative body-related interpretations, and neutral/positive interpretations. Results demonstrated that both the anxiety and disgust mood induction groups displayed higher levels of negative interpretations of the ambiguous threat scenarios than the neutral and happy groups. However, no evidence was obtained for a negative interpretation bias in the body-related domain for these negative mood groups, and this conclusion was also true for participants scoring high on a scale of eating disorder symptoms. Altogether, these findings suggest that disgust does not play a role in eating pathology by inducing a negative interpretation bias in the specific domain of body and weight concerns.     

Effect of external motion on correspondence between infant actigraphy and maternal diary

Correspondence between infant actigraphy and mother-recorded diary differed significantly when receiver–operator function area under the curve, correlation, and logistic regression was calculated with and without excluding periods of external motion. External motion occurred in 40% of recording time and significantly changed activity count per epoch.