scholarly journals The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis in Mental Health and Medication Response: Parsing Directionality and Causality

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 216-220
Author(s):  
Thomaz F S Bastiaanssen ◽  
John F Cryan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Psychotropic Drugs ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Mental Health Disorders ◽  
Longitudinal Cohort ◽  
Health Disorders

Abstract There is increasing evidence for the role of the microbiome in various mental health disorders. Moreover, there has been a growing understanding of the importance of the microbiome in mediating both the efficacy and side effects of various medications, including psychotropics. In this issue, Tomizawa and colleagues report on the effect of psychotropic drugs on the gut microbiome of 40 patients with depression and/or anxiety disorders. In their longitudinal cohort, the authors find that antipsychotics, but not anxiolytics, decrease microbiome alpha diversity. They further find that antipsychotics dosage was negatively correlated with alpha diversity in these patients. The health consequences of these microbiome alterations remain to be fully understood. In this commentary, we will discuss such findings through the lens of several recent studies on the microbiota-gut-brain axis. We also use the paper as a backdrop to discuss directionality and, by extension, causality in relation to microbiota-gut-brain-brain signaling.

Addressing Pediatric Developmental and Mental Health in Primary Care Using Tele-Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 000992282110596
Author(s):  
Joyce N. Harrison ◽  
Janna Steinberg ◽  
Anna Maria Louise Wilms Floet ◽  
Nancy Grace ◽  
Deepa Menon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Mental Health Disorders ◽  
Knowledge Gain ◽  
Atlantic Region ◽  
School Based ◽  
Health Disorders ◽  
Management Changes ◽  
Provision Of Care

This study evaluates the effectiveness of an early childhood tele-education program in preparing community pediatric clinicians to manage developmental and mental health disorders in young children. Community pediatric clinicians from rural, underserved, or school-based health center practices in the mid-Atlantic region participated in a weekly tele-education videoconference. There was a significant knowledge gain evidenced by the percentage of questions answered correctly from pre- to post- didactic exposure ( P < .001). Participants reported an increase in knowledge from pre- ( P < .001) and in confidence from pre- to post- participation ( P < .001). Practice management changes demonstrated an encouraging trend toward managing patients in the Medical Home, as compared with immediately deferring to specialists following participation. This early childhood tele-education videoconferencing program is a promising response to the urgent need to confidently increase the role of pediatricians in the provision of care for childhood developmental and mental health disorders.

The Role of Symptoms in the Recognition of Mental Health Disorders in Primary Care

2003 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 402-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
János Füredi ◽  
Sándor Rózsa ◽  
János Zámbori ◽  
Erika Szádóczky
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Mental Health Disorders ◽  
Health Disorders

The Role of Rural and Urban Geography and Gender in Community Stigma Around Mental Illness

2020 ◽  
pp. 109019812097496
Author(s):  
Shawnda Schroeder ◽  
Chih Ming Tan ◽  
Brian Urlacher ◽  
Thomasine Heitkamp
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Mental Health Disorders ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Stigma Scale ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Health Disorders ◽  
And Gender

Empirical evidence describes the negative outcomes people with mental health disorders experience due to societal stigma. The aim of this study was to examine the role of gender and rural-urban living in perceptions about mental illness. Participants completed the Day’s Mental Illness Stigma Scale, a nationally validated instrument for measuring stigma. Directors of Chambers of Commerce in North Dakota distributed the electronic survey to their members. Additionally, distribution occurred through use of social media and other snowball sampling approaches. Analysis of data gathered from 749 participants occurred through examination of the difference in perceptions based on geography and gender. The zip codes of residence were sorted to distinguish between rural and urban participants. Application of weighting measures ensured closer alignment with the general population characteristics. Findings indicate that for the majority of the seven stigma measures the Day’s Mental Illness Stigma Scale examines, the coefficient of rural–gender interactions was positive and highly significant with higher levels of stigma in rural areas. Females exhibited lower stigma perceptions than males. However, women living in rural areas held higher degrees of stigma compared to urban residing females. Implications of the study include the need to advance mental health literacy campaigns for males and people residing in rural communities. Additional empirical studies that examine the role of geography and gender in understanding stigma toward people with mental health disorders will result in improved treatment outcomes due to increased and focused educational efforts.

scholarly journals Managing Mental Health Disorders Resulting from Trauma through Yoga: A Review

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirley Telles ◽  
Nilkamal Singh ◽  
Acharya Balkrishna
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Correctional Facility ◽  
Mental Health Disorders ◽  
Health Disorders

There are many and varied types of trauma. The extent to which trauma influences the mental health of an individual depends on the nature of trauma, as well as on the individual's coping capabilities. Often trauma is followed by depression, anxiety, and PTSD. As the pharmacological remedies for these conditions often have undesirable side-effects, nonpharmacological remedies are thought of as a possible add-on treatment. Yoga is one such mind-body intervention. This paper covers eleven studies indexed in PubMed, in which mental health disorders resulting from trauma were managed through yoga including meditation. The aim was to evaluate the use of yoga in managing trauma-related depression, anxiety, PTSD and physiological stress following exposure to natural calamities, war, interpersonal violence, and incarceration in a correctional facility. An attempt has also been made to explore possible mechanisms underlying benefits seen. As most of these studies were not done on persons exposed to trauma that had practiced yoga, this is a definite area for further research.

scholarly journals The aetiology of social deficits within mental health disorders: The role of the immune system and endogenous opioids

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Jane Charles ◽  
Miguel Farias ◽  
R. I. M. Dunbar
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Mental Health Disorders ◽  
Social Bonding ◽  
Endogenous Opioids ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Endogenous Opioid System ◽  
Endogenous Opioid ◽  
Health Disorders

The American National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) has put out a set of research goals that include a long-term plan to identify more reliable endogenous explanations for a wide variety of mental health disorders (Insel, 2013). In response to this, we have identified a major symptom that underlies multiple mental health disorders – social bonding dysfunction. We suggest that endogenous opioid abnormalities can lead to altered social bonding, which is a symptom of various mental health disorders, including depression, schizophrenia and ASD. This article first outlines how endogenous opioids play a role in social bonding. Then we show their association with the body’s inflammation immune function, and review recent literature linking inflammation to mental health ‘immunophenotypes’. We finish by explaining how these immunophenotypes may be caused by alterations in the endogenous opioid system. This is the first overview of the role of inflammation across multiple disorders where we provide a biochemical explanation for why immunophenotypes might exist across diagnoses. We propose a novel mechanism of how the immune system may be causing ‘sickness-type’ behaviours (fatigue, appetite change, social withdrawal and inhibited motivation) in those who have these immunophenotypes. We hope that this novel aetiology can be used as a basis for future research in mental health.

Role of Incarceration in the Prevalence and Course of Mental Health Disorders in Delinquent Youth

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena D. Bassett ◽  
Karen M. Abram ◽  
Erin G. Romero ◽  
Leah J. Welty ◽  
Naomi Abrams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Disorders ◽  
Delinquent Youth ◽  
Health Disorders

“Go Ask Alice”: The Case for Researching Schedule I Drugs

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-177
Author(s):  
KENNETH V. ISERSON
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Drug Addiction ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Mental Health Disorders ◽  
Drug Enforcement ◽  
Drug Enforcement Administration ◽  
Health Disorders

Abstract:The available treatments for disorders affecting large segments of the population are often costly, complex, and only marginally effective, and many have numerous side effects. These disorders include dementias, debilitating neurological disorders, the multiple types of drug addiction, and the spectrum of mental health disorders.Preliminary studies have shown that a variety of psychedelic and similar U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Schedule I drugs may offer better treatment options than those that currently exist and pose potentially the same or even less risk than do legal psychoactive (alcohol, caffeine, nicotine) and nonpsychoactive (aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen) substances. The pharmaceutical industry and academia, however, have largely avoided this avenue of research.Fairness to the affected populations demands that these drugs be adequately studied and, if they or their congeners are shown to be effective, made available with the proper caveats, instructions, and protections that other potentially abused medications (e.g., narcotics) receive. These substances may prove to relieve patients’ struggles with less effective treatments and decrease mortality from nontreatment of some conditions.

scholarly journals Did the Brain and Oral Microbiota Talk to Each Other? A Review of the Literature

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 3876
Author(s):  
Yoann Maitre ◽  
Pierre Micheneau ◽  
Alexis Delpierre ◽  
Rachid Mahalli ◽  
Marie Guerin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Bipolar Disorders ◽  
Down’S Syndrome ◽  
Mental Health Disorders ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Oral Microbiome ◽  
Oral Microbiota ◽  
Health Disorders

This systematic review aims to investigate the role of the oral microbiome in the pathophysiology of mental health disorders and to appraise the methodological quality of research of the oral–brain axis which is a growing interest area. The PRISMA guideline was adopted, to carry out an electronic search through the MEDLINE database, to identify studies that have explored the role of the oral microbiome in the pathophysiology of mental health disorders published from 2000 up to June 2020. The search resulted in 140 records; after exclusions, a total of 22 papers were included in the present review. In accordance with the role of the oral microbiome in the pathophysiology of mental disorders, four mental disorders were identified: Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and cognitive disorders; autism spectrum disorder; Down’s syndrome and mental retardation; and Bipolar disorders. Studies argue for correlations between oral microbiota and Alzheimer’s disease, autism spectrum disorders, Down’s syndrome, and bipolar disorders. This field is still under-studied, and studies are needed to clarify the biological links and interconnections between the oral microbiota and the pathophysiology of all mental health disorders. Researchers should focus their efforts to develop research on the oral–brain axis in the future.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document