scholarly journals The effects of walking in nature on negative and positive affect in adult psychiatric outpatients with major depressive disorder: A randomized-controlled study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kia Watkins-Martin ◽  
Despina Bolanis ◽  
Stephane R. Devantoy ◽  
Marie-Helene Pennestri ◽  
Catherine Malboeuf-Hurtubise ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Psychiatric Outpatients ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Urban Settings ◽  
Randomized Controlled

Background: While walking in nature has been shown to improve affect in adults from the community to a greater extent than walking in urban settings, it is unknown whether such findings can be generalized to individuals suffering from depression. Using a parallel group design, this randomized controlled trial examined the effects of a single walk in nature versus urban settings on negative and positive affect in adult psychiatric outpatients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). Method: Participants recruited from a psychiatric outpatient clinic for adults with MDD were randomly assigned to a nature or urban walk condition. Thirty-seven adults (mean age=49 years) completed a single 60-minute walk. Negative and positive affect were assessed using The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule or PANAS at 6 time points: before the walk, halfway during the walk, immediately post-walk, at home before bedtime, 24 hours post-walk, and 48 hours post-walk. Results: Controlling for baseline levels of affect before the walk, individuals who walked in nature experienced overall lower levels of negative affect, F(1, 35.039)=4.239, p=.047, compared to those who walked in urban settings. Positive affect did not differ across walk conditions. Limitations: The generalizability of results are limited by the small sample size and the presence of more female than male participants. Conclusions: Walking in nature might be a useful strategy to improve the affect of adults with MDD. Future research should investigate different ways to integrate the beneficial effects of nature exposure into existing treatment plans for psychiatric outpatients with MDD. Keywords: major depressive disorder (MDD); depression; nature; greenspace; affect; randomized-control trial; physical activity

scholarly journals Dense Cranial Electroacupuncture Stimulation for Major Depressive Disorder—A Single-Blind, Randomized, Controlled Study

PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. e29651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhang-Jin Zhang ◽  
Roger Ng ◽  
Sui Cheung Man ◽  
Tsui Yin Jade Li ◽  
Wendy Wong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Randomized Controlled Study ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Single Blind

scholarly journals Functional dysconnectivity within the emotion-regulating system is associated with affective symptoms in major depressive disorder: A resting-state fMRI study

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 528-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zongling He ◽  
Fengmei Lu ◽  
Wei Sheng ◽  
Shaoqiang Han ◽  
Zhiliang Long ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Regulation System ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Affective Symptoms

Objective: Major depressive disorder (MDD) can be characterized as a multidimensional and system-level disorder. The neuropathophysiological abnormalities have been reported to be distributed in emotion regulation system, involving the prefrontal cortex (PFC), limbic and striatum in convergent studies. Decrease of positive affect and increase of negative affect are recognized as a hallmark of MDD. However, the dysfunctions in affective processing in MDD within the emotion regulation system remains largely unclear. In this study, our goals are to characterize the dysconnectivity pattern within this system and explore the relationships between this kind of dysconnectivity pattern and affective symptoms, which might help us better look into the neuropathophysiological mechanisms underlying MDD. Methods: A total of 34 MDD and 34 healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI). The alterations in functional connectivity (FC) within the emotion regulation system and their relationships with affective symptoms were explored. Results: Compared with HCs, MDD patients showed aberrant FC within this system. Importantly, deceased FC was mainly involved in the prefrontal–limbic system, while elevated FC was observed in the prefrontal–striatum system. In the MDD group, decreased FC of right posterior hippocampus–left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) was negatively associated with the negative affect scores and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores and the FC of left ventral striatum–left dlPFC was significantly negatively related with the positive affect scores. Conclusions: These findings demonstrated that MDD showed characteristic pathological alterations of the emotion regulation system. Dysconnectivity within prefrontal–limbic system might be more related to the dysregulation of negative affect, whereas dysconnectivity within prefrontal–striatum system might influence more on positive affect processing. The decrease in positive affect and increase in negative affect in MDD might have different pathological basis. These results could help better understand the dysconnectivity pattern in the emotion-regulating system underlying depression.

Comparing Effectiveness of a Combined Herbal Drug Based on Echium Amoenum with Citalopram in the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Majid Anushiravani ◽  
Ali A. Manteghi ◽  
Ali Taghipur ◽  
Mahdi Eslami
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Herbal Drug ◽  
Medical Sciences ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Dsm 5 ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Echium Amoenum

Background: According to new studies, only 60% of depressed patients respond to pharmaceutical treatment while suffering from their side effects. Natural products as adjuvant or alternative therapies should be examined to find safer and more effective ways to cope with depression. Objective: To find out the potential benefits of a combined herbal drug based on Echium amoenum compared with citalopram in the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder. Design and Setting: In psychiatry clinics of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, 50 patients who met the criteria for Major Depressive Disorder based on DSM-5 were studied in a parallel randomized controlled trial. Design and Setting: In psychiatry clinics of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, 50 patients who met the criteria for Major Depressive Disorder based on DSM-5 were studied in a parallel randomized controlled trial. Intervention: Subjects were randomly assigned to receive Echium amoenum compound syrup (EACS) or citalopram tablet for 8 weeks. Outcome Measures: The efficacy of treatments and recurrence of disease were surveyed and compared according to Hamilton depression rating scale at weeks 0, 4, 8, 12. Results: Patients in both groups of citalopram and EACS showed remarkable reduction in scores of Hamilton questionnaire. At the eighth week of treatment, the mean scores in EACS group were significantly lower than citalopram group (p-value = 0.03). 52% of patients suffered from various complications in citalopram group while just 12% of patients in EACS group reported few complications. Conclusion: Clinical efficacy of this herbal drug was significantly higher than citalopram, and complications were also less and lower in EACS group. Further studies with larger groups and para-clinical assessments such as serologic tests and QEEG would improve our understanding of the impacts and mechanisms of EACS.

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