1 4789 152 NUTRITION, IMMUNOLOGICAL MECHANISMS AND DIETARY IMMUNOMODULATION IN ADHD. ATTENTION-DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD) ETIOLOGY IS NOT COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD, BUT COMMON COMORBID DYSFUNCTION OF THE GASTROINTESTINAL AND IMMUNE SYSTEM SUGGESTS THAT THESE SYSTEMS MAY BE AFFECTED BY A COMMON GENETIC BACKGROUND AND MOLECULAR MECHANISMS. FOR EXAMPLE, INCREASED LEVELS OF SPECIFIC CYTOKINES WERE OBSERVED IN ADHD. MOREOVER, ADHD HAS A HIGH COMORBIDITY WITH BOTH TH1- AND TH2-MEDIATED DISORDERS LIKE EAR INFECTIONS, ECZEMA AND ASTHMA. A COMMON PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISM WAS SUGGESTED TO UNDERLIE BOTH ASTHMA AND ADHD, WHILE SEVERAL GENES THAT ARE LINKED TO ADHD HAVE IMMUNE FUNCTIONS. FURTHERMORE, IMMUNOLOGICAL RECOGNITION OF FOOD PROVOKING ADHD-LIKE BEHAVIOR WAS SUGGESTED. AN IMMUNE IMBALANCE, PROBABLY REQUIRING A PREDISPOSING GENETIC BACKGROUND, IS THEREFORE SUGGESTED TO CONTRIBUTE TO ADHD ETIOLOGY, WITH IMMUNE DYSREGULATION BEING MORE LIKELY THAN A SINGLE SUBCELLULAR DEFECT. HOWEVER, NEXT TO ALLERGIC MECHANISMS, ALSO PHARMACOLOGICAL MECHANISMS (ESPECIALLY IN CASE OF FOOD ADDITIVES) MIGHT BE INVOLVED. IN ADDITION, THOUGH CELLULAR (CYTOKINE-RELATED) RATHER THAN ANTIBODY-MEDIATED IMMUNE MECHANISMS SEEM INVOLVED, SPECIFIC IMMUNE-INFLAMMATORY MARKERS OTHER THAN ANTIBODIES HAVE NOT BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY STUDIED IN ADHD. SUBSTANTIAL ALTERATIONS IMPLICATED IN ADHD APPARENTLY OCCUR IN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION. AS A RESULT, CHRONIC INFLAMMATION AND OXIDATIVE STRESS COULD DEVELOP, WHICH CAN LEAD TO ADHD SYMPTOMS, FOR EXAMPLE BY CHRONIC T-CELL-MEDIATED NEUROINFLAMMATION. IF IMMUNE PATHWAYS CONTRIBUTE TO ADHD, BOTH ITS DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT SHOULD BE RECONSIDERED. MODULATION OF IMMUNE SYSTEM ACTIVITY MIGHT HAVE POTENTIAL IN ADHD TREATMENT, FOR EXAMPLE BY NUTRITIONAL APPROACHES PROVIDING SAFE AND LOW-COST ADHD THERAPY, BUT FURTHER RESEARCH IN THESE FIELDS IS IMPLICATED. 2014 2 5351 52 RATIONALE FOR DIETARY ANTIOXIDANT TREATMENT OF ADHD. INCREASING UNDERSTANDING ARISES REGARDING DISADVANTAGES OF STIMULANT MEDICATION IN CHILDREN WITH ADHD (ATTENTION-DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER). THIS REVIEW PRESENTS SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS SUPPORTING DIETARY ANTIOXIDANT TREATMENT OF ADHD AND DESCRIBES SUBSTANTIAL ALTERATIONS IN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION, AND OXIDATIVE STRESS REGULATION IN ADHD. AS A RESULT, CHRONIC INFLAMMATION AND OXIDATIVE STRESS COULD DEVELOP, WHICH CAN LEAD TO ADHD SYMPTOMS, FOR EXAMPLE BY CHRONIC T-CELL-MEDIATED NEUROINFLAMMATION, AS WELL AS BY NEURONAL OXIDATIVE DAMAGE AND LOSS OF NORMAL CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. THEREFORE, MODULATION OF IMMUNE SYSTEM ACTIVITY AND OXIDANT-ANTIOXIDANT BALANCE USING NUTRITIONAL APPROACHES MIGHT HAVE POTENTIAL IN ADHD TREATMENT. THE USE OF NATURAL ANTIOXIDANTS AGAINST OXIDATIVE CONDITIONS IS AN EMERGING FIELD IN THE MANAGEMENT OF NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES. DIETARY POLYPHENOLS, FOR EXAMPLE, HAVE ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITIES AS WELL AS IMMUNOREGULATORY EFFECTS AND, THEREFORE, APPEAR APPROPRIATE IN ADHD THERAPY. THIS REVIEW CAN STIMULATE THE DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTIGATION OF DIETARY ANTIOXIDANT TREATMENT IN ADHD, WHICH IS HIGHLY DESIRED. 2018 3 6227 34 THE LINK OF ORGANOPHOSPHORUS PESTICIDES WITH NEURODEGENERATIVE AND NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISEASES BASED ON EVIDENCE AND MECHANISMS. ORGANOPHOSPHORUS (OP) COMPOUNDS HAVE BEEN KNOWN AS THE MOST WIDELY USED PESTICIDES DURING THE PAST HALF CENTURY AND THERE HAVE BEEN A HUGE BODY OF LITERATURE REGARDING THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH HUMAN CHRONIC DISEASES. NEURODEGENERATIVE AND NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS INCLUDING ALZHEIMER, PARKINSON, AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS (ALS), ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD), AND AUTISM ARE AMONG THE AFFLICTING NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES WHICH OVERSHADOW HUMAN LIFE AND THEIR HIGHER RISK IN RELATION TO OP EXPOSURES HAVE BEEN UNCOVERED BY EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES. IN ADDITION, EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES EXPLORING THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS HAVE PROVIDED SOME EVIDENCE FOR INVOLVEMENT OF CHOLINERGIC DEFICIT, OXIDATIVE STRESS, NEURO-INFLAMMATION, AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS AS THE PROCESSES WHICH ARE COMMON IN THE TOXICITY OF THE OP AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF THE MENTIONED DISEASES. IN ADDITION, GENETIC MUTATIONS AND POLYMORPHISMS OF DIFFERENT VARIANTS OF SOME GENES LIKE PARAOXONASE HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO BE IMPLICATED IN BOTH SUSCEPTIBILITY TO OPS TOXICITY AND NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES. IN THIS ARTICLE, WE REVIEWED THE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL AS WELL AS EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES EVIDENCING THE ASSOCIATION OF EXPOSURE TO OPS AND INCIDENCE OF NEURODEGENERATIVE AND NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISEASES. 2018 4 6457 51 TIC DISORDERS: WHEN HABIT FORMING NEURAL SYSTEMS FORM HABITS OF THEIR OWN? TOURETTE SYNDROME (TS), OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER (OCD) AND RELATED CONDITIONS ARE PREVALENT DISORDERS AFFECTING AS MANY AS 0.3-3% OF THE POPULATION. THEY ARE FREQUENTLY CHRONIC AND CAN BE ASSOCIATED WITH MARKED IMPAIRMENT AND DISABILITY. ALTHOUGH CLINICAL CARE HAS IMPROVED OVER THE PAST DECADE, A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PATIENTS FAIL TO RESPOND ADEQUATELY OR EXPERIENCE INTOLERABLE SIDE EFFECTS. THE ETIOLOGY OF THESE DISORDERS IS UNKNOWN. COMPELLING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT THE VULNERABILITY TO DEVELOP TS AND OCD IS MEDIATED BY BOTH GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, AND THAT NEURAL SYSTEMS LOCATED IN THE BASAL GANGLIA AND FUNCTIONALLY RELATED BRAIN STRUCTURES ARE INVOLVED IN THEIR PATHOGENESIS. BASED ON EXPLICIT MODELS OF PATHOGENESIS FOR TS AND OCD AND BUILDING ON WORK ACCOMPLISHED OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES, AN ARRAY OF CLINICAL, NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL, GENETIC, NEUROIMAGING, EPIDEMIOLOGICAL NEUROBIOLOGICAL, AND TREATMENT STUDIES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED OR ARE UNDERWAY AT THE CHILD STUDY CENTER AT YALE UNIVERSITY. A MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM OF INVESTIGATORS HAS JOINED FORCES TO TEST SPECIFIC HYPOTHESES THROUGH THE INTEGRATION AND TRANSLATION OF BASIC AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH. ALL SUBJECTS HAVE BEEN STUDIED USING IDENTICAL CLINICAL, NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL, GENETIC, NEUROBIOLOGICAL, AND PHARMACOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES. CURRENT CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF TS HAVE BEEN SHAPED BY ADVANCES IN CLINICAL PHENOMENOLOGY, GENETICS, SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE AND THE EMERGING UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE OF THE BASAL GANGLIA IN IMPLICIT LEARNING AND HABIT FORMATION, NEUROIMMUNOLOGY AND PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY. AN APPRECIATION OF THE PREMONITORY URGES THAT PRECEDE TICS AND TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF TICS HAVE PROVIDED USEFUL VIEWPOINTS FROM WHICH TO REGARD THE NATURAL HISTORY OF TS. WHILE THE LONG-TERM OUTCOME OF TS CAN BE RELATIVELY BENIGN, THE PRESENCE OF COMORBID CONDITIONS SUCH AS ATTENTION DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD), OCD OR A MAJOR AFFECTIVE DISORDER CAN HAVE LASTING UNTOWARD CONSEQUENCES. THE IDENTIFICATION OF SUSCEPTIBILITY GENES IN TS WILL DOUBTLESS POINT IN NEW THERAPEUTIC DIRECTIONS FOR TREATMENT, AS WILL THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PUTATIVE AUTOIMMUNE MECHANISMS ACTIVE IN SUBGROUP OF PATIENTS. CONTINUED SUCCESS IN FUNCTIONAL IN VIVO NEUROIMAGING STUDIES WILL LEAD TO THE TARGETING OF SPECIFIC BRAIN CIRCUITS FOR MORE INTENSIVE STUDY. ALTHOUGH IDEAL ANTI-TIC THERAPIES ARE NOT AVAILABLE, RECENTLY COMPLETED CLINICAL TRIALS WITH ALPHA-ADRENERGIC AGENTS AND ATYPICAL NEUROLEPTICS ARE ENCOURAGING. GIVEN THESE DEVELOPMENTS, TS CAN BE CONSIDERED A MODEL DISORDER TO STUDY THE DYNAMIC INTERPLAY OF GENETIC VULNERABILITIES, EPIGENETIC EVENTS, AND NEUROBIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS ACTIVE DURING EARLY BRAIN DEVELOPMENT. IT IS LIKELY THAT THE RESEARCH PARADIGMS UTILIZED IN THESE STUDIES AND MANY OF THE EMPIRICAL FINDINGS RESULTING FROM THEM, WILL BE RELEVANT TO OTHER DISORDERS OF CHILDHOOD ONSET AND TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF NORMAL DEVELOPMENT. 2001 5 1818 29 EFFECTS OF CHRONIC METHAMPHETAMINE EXPOSURE ON REWARDING BEHAVIOR AND NEURODEGENERATION MARKERS IN ADULT MICE. RECREATIONAL AND MEDICAL USE OF STIMULANTS AMONG YOUNG ADULTS HAVE GAINED POPULARITY IN THE UNITED STATES OVER THE LAST DECADE AND THEIR USE MAY INCREASE VULNERABILITY TO BRAIN BIOCHEMICAL CHANGES AND ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS. THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF CHRONIC STIMULANT EXPOSURE IN LATER ADULTHOOD HAVE NOT BEEN FULLY ELUCIDATED.OUR STUDY INVESTIGATED WHETHER CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO METHAMPHETAMINE (METH), AT A DOSE DESIGNED TO EMULATE HUMAN THERAPEUTIC DOSING FOR ADHD, WOULD PROMOTE BIOCHEMICAL ALTERATIONS AND AFFECT SENSITIVITY TO THE REWARDING EFFECTS OF SUBSEQUENT METH DOSING.GROUPS OF 3.5-MONTH-OLD MALE AND FEMALE C57BL/6J MICE WERE ADMINISTERED NON-CONTINGENT INTRAPERITONEAL INJECTIONS OF EITHER SALINE OR METH (1.4 MG/KG) TWICE A DAY FOR 1 MONTH (5 DAYS/WEEK). METH (0.5 MG/KG)-INDUCED CONDITIONED PLACE PREFERENCE (CPP) WAS TESTED IN MICE TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF PREVIOUS METH EXPOSURE ON REWARD-RELATED BEHAVIOR. MICE WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EXPERIMENT I (MALES AND FEMALES) OR EXPERIMENT II (FEMALES ONLY) IN WHICH CPP TESTING WAS RESPECTIVELY PERFORMED EITHER 0.5 OR 5 MONTHS AFTER THE END OF METH INJECTIONS, AT ~5 OR 10 MONTHS OLD RESPECTIVELY. THE MIDBRAIN AND STRIATUM, REGIONS INVOLVED IN REWARD CIRCUIT, WERE ASSESSED FOR MARKERS ASSOCIATED WITH NEUROTOXICITY, DOPAMINERGIC FUNCTION, NEUROINFLAMMATION AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES AFTER BEHAVIORAL TESTING.PREVIOUS EXPOSURE TO CHRONIC METH DID NOT HAVE SIGNIFICANT SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON CPP RESPONSE BUT LED TO A DECREASED CPP RESPONSE IN 10-MONTH-OLD FEMALES. PREVIOUS EXPOSURE TO METH INDUCED SOME SHORT-TERM CHANGES TO BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS MEASURED IN A BRAIN REGION AND SEX-DEPENDENT MANNER, WHILE LONG-TERM CHANGES WERE ONLY OBSERVED WITH GFAP AND KDM5C.IN CONCLUSION, OUR DATA SUGGEST SEX- AND POST-EXPOSURE DURATION-DEPENDENT OUTCOMES AND WARRANT FURTHER EXPLORATION OF THE LONG-TERM NEUROBEHAVIORAL CONSEQUENCES OF PSYCHOSTIMULANT USE IN BOTH SEXES. 2023 6 6827 30 [GILLES DE LA TOURETTE'S DISEASE. SYMPTOMS, ETIOPATHOGENESIS AND THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES]. THE GILLES DE LA TOURETTE SYNDROME IS A USUALLY CHRONIC NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDER WITH AN EARLY CHILDHOOD ONSET FEATURING MAINLY MOTOR AND VOCAL TICS. IT SEEMS THAT STRONG GENETIC FACTORS MAKE A MAJOR CONTRIBUTION TO THE ETIOLOGY OF THIS DISORDER, BUT THERE ARE ALSO CLUES THAT EPIGENETIC FACTORS ARE INVOLVED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF TOURETTE'S SYNDROME, SUCH AS MATERNAL STRESS DURING PREGNANCY, BIRTH COMPLICATIONS AND HORMONAL INFLUENCES. FIRST IN LINE FOR ADEQUATE TREATMENT ARE NEUROLEPTIC COMPOUNDS OF HIGH POTENCY, BESIDES, SEVERAL OTHER PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS HAVE SHOWN SOME THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS. LESS EVIDENT IS THE EFFICACY OF NEUROSURGICAL AND PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS. 1997 7 4626 35 NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS AND ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICANTS: EPIGENETICS AS AN UNDERLYING MECHANISM. THE INCREASING PREVALENCE OF NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS, ESPECIALLY AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS (ASD) AND ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD), CALLS FOR MORE RESEARCH INTO THE IDENTIFICATION OF ETIOLOGIC AND RISK FACTORS. THE DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGIN OF HEALTH AND DISEASE (DOHAD) HYPOTHESIZES THAT THE ENVIRONMENT DURING FETAL AND CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AFFECTS THE RISK FOR MANY CHRONIC DISEASES IN LATER STAGES OF LIFE, INCLUDING NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS. EPIGENETICS, A TERM DESCRIBING MECHANISMS THAT CAUSE CHANGES IN THE CHROMOSOME STATE WITHOUT AFFECTING DNA SEQUENCES, IS SUGGESTED TO BE THE UNDERLYING MECHANISM, ACCORDING TO THE DOHAD HYPOTHESIS. MOREOVER, MANY NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS ARE ALSO RELATED TO EPIGENETIC ABNORMALITIES. EXPERIMENTAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES SUGGEST THAT EXPOSURE TO PRENATAL ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICANTS IS ASSOCIATED WITH NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS. IN ADDITION, THERE IS ALSO EVIDENCE THAT ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICANTS CAN RESULT IN EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, NOTABLY DNA METHYLATION. IN THIS REVIEW, WE FIRST FOCUS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS AND ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICANTS, IN PARTICULAR MATERNAL SMOKING, PLASTIC-DERIVED CHEMICALS (BISPHENOL A AND PHTHALATES), PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS, AND HEAVY METALS. WE THEN REVIEW STUDIES SHOWING THE EPIGENETIC EFFECTS OF THOSE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN HUMANS THAT MAY AFFECT NORMAL NEURODEVELOPMENT. 2017 8 5331 46 PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER IN GILLES DE LA TOURETTE SYNDROME: EXPLORING THE LINK BETWEEN CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS AND THE BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF DYSFUNCTION. GILLES DE LA TOURETTE SYNDROME IS A COMPLEX, IDIOPATHIC NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDER WHOSE PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS HAVE YET TO BE ELUCIDATED. IT IS PHENOTYPICALLY HETEROGENEOUS AND MANIFESTS MORE OFTEN THAN NOT WITH BOTH MOTOR AND BEHAVIORAL IMPAIRMENT, ALTHOUGH TICS ARE ITS CLINICAL HALLMARK. TICS THEMSELVES PRESENT WITH A COMPLEX PROFILE AS THEY CHARACTERISTICALLY WAX AND WANE AND ARE OFTEN PRECEDED BY PREMONITORY SOMATOSENSORY SENSATIONS TO WHICH IT IS SAID A TIC IS THE RESPONSE. HIGHLY COMORBID WITH OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER AND ATTENTION DEFICIT-HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER, IT IS PURPORTED TO BE AN EPIGENETIC, NEURODEVELOPMENTAL SPECTRUM DISORDER WITH A COMPLEX GENETIC PROFILE. IT HAS A CHILDHOOD ONSET, OCCURS DISPROPORTIONATELY IN MALES, AND SHOWS SPONTANEOUS SYMPTOMATIC ATTENUATION BY ADULTHOOD IN THE MAJORITY OF THOSE AFFLICTED. ALTHOUGH NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD, ITS NEUROBIOLOGICAL BASIS IS LINKED TO DYSFUNCTION IN THE CORTICO-BASAL GANGLIA-THALAMO-CORTICAL NETWORK. TREATMENT MODALITIES FOR TOURETTE SYNDROME INCLUDE BEHAVIORAL, PHARMACOLOGICAL AND SURGICAL INTERVENTIONS, BUT THERE IS PRESENTLY NO CURE FOR THE DISORDER. FOR THOSE SEVERELY AFFECTED, DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION (DBS) HAS RECENTLY BECOME A VIABLE THERAPEUTIC OPTION. A KEY FACTOR TO ATTAINING OPTIMAL RESULTS FROM THIS SURGERY IS TARGET SELECTION, A TOPIC STILL UNDER DEBATE DUE TO THE COMPLEX CLINICAL PROFILE PRESENTED BY GTS PATIENTS. DEPENDING ON ITS PHENOTYPIC EXPRESSION AND THE MOST PROBLEMATIC ASPECT OF THE DISORDER FOR THE INDIVIDUAL, ONE OF THREE BRAIN REGIONS IS MOST COMMONLY CHOSEN FOR STIMULATION: THE THALAMUS, GLOBUS PALLIDUS, OR NUCLEUS ACCUMBENS. NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL ANALYSES OF INTRA- AND POST-OPERATIVE HUMAN ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL RECORDINGS FROM CLINICAL DBS STUDIES SUGGEST A LINK BETWEEN TIC BEHAVIOR AND ACTIVITY IN BOTH THE THALAMUS AND GLOBUS PALLIDUS. IN PARTICULAR, CHRONIC RECORDINGS FROM THE THALAMUS HAVE SHOWN A CORRELATION BETWEEN SYMPTOMATOLOGY AND (1) SPECTRAL ACTIVITY IN GAMMA BAND POWER AND (2) THETA/GAMMA CROSS FREQUENCY COHERENCE. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST GAMMA OSCILLATIONS AND THETA/GAMMA CROSS CORRELATION DYNAMICS MAY SERVE AS BIOMARKERS FOR DYSFUNCTION. WHILE ACUTE AND CHRONIC RECORDINGS FROM HUMAN SUBJECTS UNDERGOING DBS HAVE PROVIDED BETTER INSIGHT INTO TIC GENESIS AND THE NEUROPATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING TOURETTE SYNDROME, THESE STUDIES ARE STILL SPARSE AND THE FIELD WOULD GREATLY BENEFIT FROM FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS. THIS REVIEW REPORTS DATA AND DISCOVERIES OF SCIENTIFIC AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE FROM A WIDE VARIETY OF METHODS AND PROVIDES UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE PATHOMECHANISMS UNDERLYING TOURETTE SYNDROME. IT GIVES A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE AND ADDRESSES OPEN QUESTIONS IN THE FIELD. 2017 9 2105 38 EPIGENETIC EVIDENCE FOR INVOLVEMENT OF THE OXYTOCIN RECEPTOR GENE IN OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER. BACKGROUND: OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER (OCD) IS A CHRONIC NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER THAT AFFECTS UP TO 3% OF THE GENERAL POPULATION. ALTHOUGH EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS PLAY A ROLE IN NEURODEVELOPMENT DISORDERS, EPIGENETIC PATHWAYS ASSOCIATED WITH OCD HAVE RARELY BEEN INVESTIGATED. OXYTOCIN IS A NEUROPEPTIDE INVOLVED IN NEUROBEHAVIORAL FUNCTIONS. OXYTOCIN HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE REGULATION OF COMPLEX SOCIO-COGNITIVE PROCESSES SUCH AS ATTACHMENT, SOCIAL EXPLORATION, AND SOCIAL RECOGNITION, AS WELL AS ANXIETY AND OTHER STRESS-RELATED BEHAVIORS. OXYTOCIN HAS ALSO BEEN LINKED TO THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF OCD, ALBEIT INCONSISTENTLY. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE METHYLATION IN TWO TARGETS SEQUENCES LOCATED IN THE EXON III OF THE OXYTOCIN RECEPTOR GENE (OXTR), IN OCD PATIENTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS. WE USED BISULFITE SEQUENCING TO QUANTIFY DNA METHYLATION IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD SAMPLES COLLECTED FROM 42 OCD PATIENTS AND 31 HEALTHY CONTROLS. RESULTS: WE FOUND THAT THE LEVEL OF METHYLATION OF THE CYTOSINE-PHOSPHATE-GUANINE SITES IN TWO TARGETS SEQUENCES ANALYZED WAS GREATER IN THE OCD PATIENTS THAN IN THE CONTROLS. THE HIGHER METHYLATION IN THE OCD PATIENTS CORRELATED WITH OCD SEVERITY. WE MEASURED DNA METHYLATION IN THE PERIPHERAL BLOOD, WHICH PREVENTED US FROM DRAWING ANY CONCLUSIONS ABOUT PROCESSES IN THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. CONCLUSION: TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, THIS IS THE FIRST STUDY INVESTIGATING DNA METHYLATION OF THE OXTR IN OCD. FURTHER STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO EVALUATE THE ROLES THAT DNA METHYLATION AND OXYTOCIN PLAY IN OCD. 2016 10 6125 32 THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS OF AMPHETAMINE. AMPHETAMINE (AMPH) IS A PSYCHOSTIMULANT AND THE MOST PRESCRIBED DRUG TO TREAT ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVE DISORDER (ADHD). ALTHOUGH THERAPEUTICALLY USED DOSES ARE GENERALLY WELL TOLERATED, NUMEROUS SIDE EFFECTS ARE STILL KNOWN TO OCCUR, SUCH AS JITTERINESS, LOSS OF APPETITE AND PSYCHOSIS. MOREOVER, AMPH IS LIABLE TO BE ABUSED BY USERS LOOKING FOR INCREASED ALERTNESS, WEIGHT LOSS OR ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE. A GROWING BODY OF EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT DRUGS OF ABUSE, INCLUDING AMPH, CONTROL GENE EXPRESSION THROUGH CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS. HOWEVER, WHILE NUMEROUS STUDIES HAVE INVESTIGATED THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF AMPH ACTION, ONLY A SMALL NUMBER OF STUDIES HAVE EXPLORED CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION CAUSED BY AMPH. THIS REVIEW EXAMINES THE EPIGENETIC CHANGES INDUCED BY CHRONIC AND ACUTE TREATMENTS WITH AMPH AND INCLUDES, WHERE RELEVANT, DATA OBTAINED WITH OTHER PSYCHOSTIMULANTS SUCH AS METHAMPHETAMINE AND COCAINE. 2015 11 6742 44 WHITHER THE ETIOPATHOGENESIS (AND SCOLIOGENY) OF ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS? ALTHOUGH CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS HAD BEEN MADE IN THE PAST TWO DECADES IN UNDERSTANDING THE ETIOPATHOGENESIS OF ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS (AIS), IT STILL LACKS AN AGREED THEORY OF ETIOPATHOGENESIS. ONE PROBLEM MAY BE THAT AIS RESULTS NOT FROM ONE CAUSE, BUT SEVERAL THAT INTERACT WITH VARIOUS GENETIC PREDISPOSING FACTORS. THERE IS A VIEW THERE ARE TWO OTHER PATHOGENIC PROCESSES FOR IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS NAMELY, INITIATING (OR INDUCING), AND THOSE THAT CAUSE CURVE PROGRESSION. TWIN STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS OF FAMILY AGGREGATION HAVE REVEALED SIGNIFICANT GENETIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS, THAT PLACE AIS AMONG OTHER COMMON DISEASE OR COMPLEX TRAITS WITH A HIGH HERITABILITY INTERPRETED BY THE GENETIC VARIANT HYPOTHESIS OF DISEASE. WE SUMMARIZE ETIOPATHOGENETIC KNOWLEDGE OF AIS AS THEORIES OF PATHOGENESIS INCLUDING RECENT MULTIPLE CONCEPTS, AND BLOOD TESTS FOR AIS BASED ON PREDICTIVE BIOMARKERS AND GENETIC VARIANTS THAT SIGNIFY DISEASE RISK. THERE IS INCREASING EVIDENCE FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF AN UNDERLYING NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER FOR AIS, RESEARCH WHICH HOLDS PROMISE. LIKE BRAIN RESEARCH, MOST AIS WORKERS FOCUS ON THEIR OWN CORNER AND THERE IS A NEED FOR GREATER INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH EFFORT. EPIGENETICS, A RELATIVELY RECENT FIELD, EVALUATES FACTORS CONCERNED WITH GENE EXPRESSION IN RELATION TO ENVIRONMENT, DISEASE, NORMAL DEVELOPMENT AND AGING, WITH A COMPLEX REGULATION ACROSS THE GENOME DURING THE FIRST DECADE OF LIFE. RESEARCH ON THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, EPIGENETICS AND CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NCDS) INCLUDING ADIPOSITY, AFTER A SLOW START, HAS EXPLODED IN THE LAST DECADE. NOT SO FOR AIS RESEARCH AND THE ENVIRONMENT WHERE, EXCEPT FOR MONOZYGOTIC TWIN STUDIES, THERE ARE ONLY SPORADIC REPORTS TO SUGGEST THAT ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ARE AT WORK IN ETIOLOGY. HERE, WE EXAMINE EPIGENETIC CONCEPTS AS THEY MAY RELATE TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, NORMAL LIFE HISTORY PHASES AND AIS PATHOGENESIS. ALTHOUGH AIS IS NOT REGARDED AS AN NCD, LIKE THEM, IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH WHOLE ORGANISM METABOLIC PHENOMENA, INCLUDING LOWER BODY MASS INDEX, LOWER CIRCULATING LEPTIN LEVELS AND OTHER SYSTEMIC DISORDERS. SOME EPIGENETIC RESEARCH APPLIED TO SILVER-RUSSELL SYNDROME AND ADIPOSITY IS EXAMINED, FROM WHICH SUGGESTIONS ARE MADE FOR CONSIDERATION OF AIS EPIGENETIC RESEARCH, CROSS-SECTIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL. THE WORD SCOLIOGENY IS SUGGESTED TO INCLUDE ETIOLOGY, PATHOGENESIS AND PATHOMECHANISM. 2012 12 1672 36 DRD4 METHYLATION AS A POTENTIAL BIOMARKER FOR PHYSICAL AGGRESSION: AN EPIGENOME-WIDE, CROSS-TISSUE INVESTIGATION. EPIGENETIC PROCESSES THAT REGULATE GENE EXPRESSION, SUCH AS DNA METHYLATION (DNAM), HAVE BEEN LINKED TO INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN PHYSICAL AGGRESSION. YET, IT IS CURRENTLY UNCLEAR WHETHER: (A) DNAM PATTERNS IN HUMANS ASSOCIATE WITH PHYSICAL AGGRESSION INDEPENDENTLY OF OTHER CO-OCCURRING PSYCHIATRIC AND BEHAVIORAL SYMPTOMS; (B) WHETHER THESE PATTERNS ARE OBSERVABLE ACROSS MULTIPLE TISSUES; AND (C) WHETHER THEY MAY FUNCTION AS A CAUSAL VERSUS NONCAUSAL BIOMARKER OF PHYSICAL AGGRESSION. HERE, WE USED A MULTISAMPLE, CROSS-TISSUE DESIGN TO ADDRESS THESE QUESTIONS. FIRST, WE EXAMINED GENOME-WIDE DNAM PATTERNS (BUCCAL SWABS; ILLUMINA 450K) ASSOCIATED WITH ENGAGEMENT IN PHYSICAL FIGHTS IN A SAMPLE OF HIGH-RISK YOUTH (N = 119; AGE = 16-24 YEARS; 53% FEMALE). WE IDENTIFIED ONE DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED REGION IN DRD4, WHICH SURVIVED GENOME-WIDE CORRECTION, ASSOCIATED WITH PHYSICAL AGGRESSION ABOVE AND BEYOND CO-OCCURRING SYMPTOMATOLOGY (E.G., ADHD, SUBSTANCE USE), AND SHOWED STRONG CROSS-TISSUE CONCORDANCE WITH BOTH BLOOD AND BRAIN. SECOND, WE FOUND THAT DNAM SITES WITHIN THIS REGION WERE ALSO DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED IN AN INDEPENDENT SAMPLE OF YOUNG ADULTS, BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS WITH A HISTORY OF CHRONIC-HIGH VERSUS LOW PHYSICAL AGGRESSION (PERIPHERAL T CELLS; AGES 26-28). FINALLY, WE RAN A MENDELIAN RANDOMIZATION ANALYSIS USING GWAS DATA FROM THE EAGLE CONSORTIUM TO TEST FOR A CAUSAL ASSOCIATION OF DRD4 METHYLATION WITH PHYSICAL AGGRESSION. ONLY ONE GENETIC INSTRUMENT WAS ELIGIBLE FOR THE ANALYSIS, AND RESULTS PROVIDED NO EVIDENCE FOR A CAUSAL ASSOCIATION. OVERALL, OUR FINDINGS LEND SUPPORT FOR PERIPHERAL DRD4 METHYLATION AS A POTENTIAL BIOMARKER OF PHYSICALLY AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, WITH NO EVIDENCE YET OF A CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP. 2018 13 4632 38 NEUROIMAGING GENETIC APPROACHES TO POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. NEUROIMAGING GENETIC STUDIES THAT ASSOCIATE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC VARIATION WITH NEURAL ACTIVITY OR STRUCTURE PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LINK GENES TO PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS, OFTEN BEFORE PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IS DISCERNABLE IN BEHAVIOR. HERE WE REVIEW NEUROIMAGING GENETICS STUDIES WITH PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD). RESULTS SHOW THAT GENES RELATED TO THE PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS RESPONSE (E.G., GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR AND ACTIVITY, NEUROENDOCRINE RELEASE), LEARNING AND MEMORY (E.G., PLASTICITY), MOOD, AND PAIN PERCEPTION ARE TIED TO NEURAL INTERMEDIATE PHENOTYPES ASSOCIATED WITH PTSD. THESE GENES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH AND SOMETIMES PREDICT NEURAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION IN AREAS INVOLVED IN ATTENTION, EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, MEMORY, DECISION-MAKING, EMOTION REGULATION, SALIENCE OF POTENTIAL THREATS, AND PAIN PERCEPTION. EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THESE RISK POLYMORPHISMS AND NEURAL INTERMEDIATE PHENOTYPES ARE VULNERABILITIES TOWARD DEVELOPING PTSD IN THE AFTERMATH OF TRAUMA, OR VULNERABILITIES TOWARD PARTICULAR SYMPTOMS ONCE PTSD HAS DEVELOPED. WORK DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN THE RE-EXPERIENCING AND DISSOCIATIVE SUB-TYPES OF PTSD, AND EXAMINING OTHER PTSD SYMPTOM CLUSTERS IN ADDITION TO THE RE-EXPERIENCING AND HYPERAROUSAL SYMPTOMS, WILL FURTHER CLARIFY NEUROBIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS AND INCONSISTENT FINDINGS. FURTHERMORE, AN EXCITING POSSIBILITY IS THAT GENETIC ASSOCIATIONS WITH PTSD MAY EVENTUALLY BE UNDERSTOOD THROUGH DIFFERENTIAL INTERMEDIATE PHENOTYPES OF NEURAL CIRCUIT STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION, POSSIBLY UNDERLYING THE DIFFERENT SYMPTOM CLUSTERS SEEN WITHIN PTSD. 2016 14 747 29 CANNABIS-INDUCED HYPODOPAMINERGIC ANHEDONIA AND COGNITIVE DECLINE IN HUMANS: EMBRACING PUTATIVE INDUCTION OF DOPAMINE HOMEOSTASIS. OVER YEARS, THE REGULAR USE OF CANNABIS HAS SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED AMONG YOUNG ADULTS, AS INDICATED BY THE RISE IN CANNABIS USE DISORDER (CUD), WITH AN ESTIMATED PREVALENCE OF 8. 3% IN THE UNITED STATES. RESEARCH SHOWS THAT EXPOSURE TO CANNABIS IS ASSOCIATED WITH HYPODOPAMINERGIC ANHEDONIA (DEPRESSION), COGNITIVE DECLINE, POOR MEMORY, INATTENTION, IMPAIRED LEARNING PERFORMANCE, REDUCED DOPAMINE BRAIN RESPONSE-ASSOCIATED EMOTIONALITY, AND INCREASED ADDICTION SEVERITY IN YOUNG ADULTS. THE ADDICTION MEDICINE COMMUNITY IS INCREASING CONCERN BECAUSE OF THE HIGH CONTENT OF DELTA-9-TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL (THC) CURRENTLY FOUND IN ORAL AND VAPING CANNABIS PRODUCTS, THE COGNITIVE EFFECTS OF CANNABIS MAY BECOME MORE PRONOUNCED IN YOUNG ADULTS WHO USE THESE CANNABIS PRODUCTS. PRELIMINARY RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO INDUCE 'DOPAMINE HOMEOSTASIS,' THAT IS, RESTORE DOPAMINE FUNCTION WITH DOPAMINE UPREGULATION WITH THE PROPOSED COMPOUND AND NORMALIZE BEHAVIOR IN CHRONIC CANNABIS USERS WITH CANNABIS-INDUCED HYPODOPAMINERGIC ANHEDONIA (DEPRESSION) AND COGNITIVE DECLINE. THIS PSYCHOLOGICAL, NEUROBIOLOGICAL, ANATOMICAL, GENETIC, AND EPIGENETIC RESEARCH ALSO COULD PROVIDE EVIDENCE TO USE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN APPROPRIATE POLICY REGARDING THE DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS FOR RECREATIONAL USE. 2021 15 6743 48 WHITHER THE ETIOPATHOGENESIS (AND SCOLIOGENY) OF ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS? INCORPORATING PRESENTATIONS ON SCOLIOGENY AT THE 2012 IRSSD AND SRS MEETINGS. THIS PAPER AIMS TO INTEGRATE INTO CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF AIS CAUSATION, ETIOPATHOGENETIC INFORMATION PRESENTED AT TWO MEETINGS DURING 2012 NAMELY, THE INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY OF SPINAL DEFORMITIES (IRSSD) AND THE SCOLIOSIS RESEARCH SOCIETY (SRS). THE ULTIMATE HOPE IS TO PREVENT THE OCCURRENCE OR PROGRESSION OF THE SPINAL DEFORMITY OF AIS WITH NON-INVASIVE TREATMENT, POSSIBLY MEDICAL. THIS MIGHT BE ATTAINED BY PERSONALISED POLYMECHANISTIC PREVENTIVE THERAPY TARGETING THE APPROPRIATE ETIOLOGY AND/OR ETIOPATHOGENETIC PATHWAYS, TO AVOID FUSION AND MAINTAIN SPINAL MOBILITY. ALTHOUGH CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS HAD BEEN MADE IN THE PAST TWO DECADES IN UNDERSTANDING THE ETIOPATHOGENESIS OF ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS (AIS), IT STILL LACKS AN AGREED THEORY OF ETIOPATHOGENESIS. ONE PROBLEM MAY BE THAT AIS RESULTS NOT FROM ONE CAUSE, BUT SEVERAL THAT INTERACT WITH VARIOUS GENETIC PREDISPOSING FACTORS. THERE IS A VIEW THERE ARE TWO OTHER PATHOGENIC PROCESSES FOR IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS NAMELY, INITIATING (OR INDUCING), AND THOSE THAT CAUSE CURVE PROGRESSION. TWIN STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS OF FAMILY AGGREGATION HAVE REVEALED SIGNIFICANT GENETIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS, THAT PLACE AIS AMONG OTHER COMMON DISEASE OR COMPLEX TRAITS WITH A HIGH HERITABILITY INTERPRETED BY THE GENETIC VARIANT HYPOTHESIS OF DISEASE. WE SUMMARIZE ETIOPATHOGENETIC KNOWLEDGE OF AIS AS THEORIES OF PATHOGENESIS INCLUDING RECENT MULTIPLE CONCEPTS, AND BLOOD TESTS FOR AIS BASED ON PREDICTIVE BIOMARKERS AND GENETIC VARIANTS THAT SIGNIFY DISEASE RISK. THERE IS INCREASING EVIDENCE FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF AN UNDERLYING NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER FOR AIS, RESEARCH WHICH HOLDS PROMISE. LIKE BRAIN RESEARCH, MOST AIS WORKERS FOCUS ON THEIR OWN CORNER AND THERE IS A NEED FOR GREATER INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH EFFORT. EPIGENETICS, A RELATIVELY RECENT FIELD, EVALUATES FACTORS CONCERNED WITH GENE EXPRESSION IN RELATION TO ENVIRONMENT, DISEASE, NORMAL DEVELOPMENT AND AGING, WITH A COMPLEX REGULATION ACROSS THE GENOME DURING THE FIRST DECADE OF LIFE. RESEARCH ON THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, EPIGENETICS AND CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NCDS) INCLUDING ADIPOSITY, AFTER A SLOW START, HAS EXPLODED IN THE LAST DECADE. NOT SO FOR AIS RESEARCH AND THE ENVIRONMENT WHERE, EXCEPT FOR MONOZYGOTIC TWIN STUDIES, THERE ARE ONLY SPORADIC REPORTS TO SUGGEST THAT ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ARE AT WORK IN ETIOLOGY. HERE, WE EXAMINE EPIGENETIC CONCEPTS AS THEY MAY RELATE TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, NORMAL LIFE HISTORY PHASES AND AIS PATHOGENESIS. ALTHOUGH AIS IS NOT REGARDED AS AN NCD, LIKE THEM, IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH WHOLE ORGANISM METABOLIC PHENOMENA, INCLUDING LOWER BODY MASS INDEX, LOWER CIRCULATING LEPTIN LEVELS AND OTHER SYSTEMIC DISORDERS. SOME EPIGENETIC RESEARCH APPLIED TO SILVER-RUSSELL SYNDROME AND ADIPOSITY IS EXAMINED, FROM WHICH SUGGESTIONS ARE MADE FOR CONSIDERATION OF AIS EPIGENETIC RESEARCH, CROSS-SECTIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL. THE WORD SCOLIOGENY IS SUGGESTED TO INCLUDE ETIOLOGY, PATHOGENESIS AND PATHOMECHANISM. 2013 16 265 42 ADVERSE EFFECTS OF RECREATIONAL AND MEDICAL CANNABIS. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: THIS COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW DISCUSSES THE ADVERSE EFFECTS KNOWN TODAY ABOUT MARIJUANA, FOR EITHER MEDICAL OR RECREATIONAL USE. IT REVIEWS THE ROLE OF CANNABIS IN THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PAIN, COGNITIVE AND NEUROLOGICAL ADVERSE EFFECTS, SPECIAL CASES AND ADDICTION. RECENT FINDINGS: CANNABINOIDS WORK THROUGH THE ENDOCANNABINOIDS SYSTEM AND INHIBIT THE RELEASE OF GABA AND GLUTAMATE IN THE BRAIN, IMPACT NEUROMODULATION, AS WELL AS DOPAMINE, ACETYLCHOLINE AND NOREPINEPHRINE RELEASE. THEY AFFECT REWARD, LEARNING AND PAIN. THE USE OF CANNABIS IS INCREASING NATIONALLY AND WORLD-WIDE FOR BOTH RECREATIONAL AND MEDICINAL PURPOSES, HOWEVER, THERE IS RELATIVELY ONLY LOW QUALITY EVIDENCE TO THE EFFICACY AND ADVERSE EFFECTS OF THIS. CANNABIS AND ITS DERIVATIVES MAY BE USED FOR TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PAIN. THEY ARE VIA CB1 RECEPTORS THAT ARE THOUGHT TO MODULATE NOCICEPTIVE SIGNALS IN THE BRAIN. CB2 RECEPTORS IN THE DRG LIKELY AFFECT PAIN INTEGRATION IN THE AFFERENT PATHWAYS, AND PERIPHERALLY CB2 ALSO AFFECTS NORADRENERGIC PATHWAYS INFLUENCING PAIN. A LARGE PROPORTION OF USERS MAY SEE MORE THAN 50% OF CHRONIC PAIN ALLEVIATION COMPARED WITH PLACEBO. CANNABIS AFFECTS COGNITION, MOST NOTABLY EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, MEMORY AND ATTENTION, AND MAY DETERIORATE THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN EMOTIONAL AND EXECUTIVE PROCESSING. CANNABIS IMPAIRS MEMORY IN THE SHORT RUN, WHICH BECOME MORE SIGNIFICANT WITH CHRONIC USE, AND MAY ALSO BE ACCOMPANIED BY POORER EFFORT, SLOWER PROCESSING AND IMPACTED ATTENTION. IT IS GENERALLY BELIEVED THAT LONG-TERM USE AND EARLIER AGE ARE RISK FACTOR FOR NEUROCOGNITIVE DEFICITS; NEUROIMAGING STUDIES HAVE SHOWN REDUCED HIPPOCAMPAL VOLUME AND DENSITY. EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AND MEMORY ARE WORSE IN ADOLESCENT USERS VERSUS ADULTS. CANNABIS ADDICTION IS DIFFERENT AND LIKELY LESS COMMON THAN OTHER ADDICTIVE SUBSTANCES, BUT UP TO 10% OF USERS MEET CRITERIA FOR LIFETIME CANNABIS DEPENDENCE. ADDICTION PATTERNS MAY BE LINKED TO GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC DIFFERENCES. IT IS STILL UNCLEAR WHETHER ABSTINENCE REVERSES PATTERNS OF ADDICTION, AND MORE RESEARCH IS REQUIRED INTO THIS TOPIC. SUMMARY: CANNABIS USE HAS BECOME MORE ABUNDANT FOR BOTH MEDICAL AND RECREATIONAL USE. IT CARRIES LIKELY BENEFITS IN THE FORM OF ANALGESIA, ANTI-EMESIS AND IMPROVED APPETITE IN CHRONIC PATIENTS. THE EVIDENCE REVIEWING ADVERSE EFFECTS OF THIS USE ARE STILL LIMITED, HOWEVER, EXITING DATA POINTS TO A CLEAR LINK WITH NEUROCOGNITIVE DETERIORATION, BACKED BY LOSS OF BRAIN VOLUME AND DENSITY. ADDICTION IS LIKELY COMPLEX AND VARIABLE, AND NO GOOD DATA EXISTS TO SUPPORT TREATMENT AT THIS POINT. IT IS BECOMING CLEAR THAT USE IN EARLIER AGES CARRIES A HIGHER RISK FOR LONG-TERM DEFICITS. AS WITH ANY OTHER DRUG, THESE RISKS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ALONGSIDE BENEFITS PRIOR TO A DECISION ON CANNABIS USE. 2021 17 6917 20 [WHOSE BORDERLINE IS IT? HYPOTHESIZED ETIOLOGIES OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY]. BORDERLINE PERSONALITY IS A WELL KNOWN CONCEPT IN PSYCHIATRIC LITERATURE, HOWEVER, NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD AS TO ITS VERY NATURE. THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS A SHORT REVIEW OF HYPOTHESIZED ETIOLOGIES OF THE BORDERLINE PERSONALITY, STARTING WITH SO CALLED TRADITIONAL THEORIES, NAMELY, BORDERLINE PERSONALITY AS A CONSOLIDATED PERSONALITY ORGANIZATION, IN WHICH THE PATIENT PATHOLOGICALLY DEALS WITH HIS OR HER INNER AGGRESSION, OR WITH AN ENDURING DEVELOPMENTAL FAILURE. MORE MODERN HYPOTHESES FOCUS ON POSSIBLE CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE AS THE ORIGIN OF THE BORDERLINE, VIEWING THE ADULT PERSONALITY AS A CHRONIC, UNRESOLVED, POST-TRAUMATIC DISORDER. ADDITIONALLY, A NEURO-EPIGENETIC VIEW HYPOTHESIZED THAT A UNIQUE CONGENITAL NEUROLOGICAL STRUCTURE INTERACTS WITH CONSEQUENTIAL EVENTS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD TO CREATE THE BORDERLINE PERSONALITY. 2008 18 6047 39 THE COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS CONDUCTED ON MIRNA TARGET SITES IN ASSOCIATION WITH SNPS AT 3'UTR OF ADHD-IMPLICATED GENES. BACKGROUND: ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD) IS A FREQUENT CHRONIC NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDER IN WHICH DIFFERENT FACTORS INCLUDING ENVIRONMENTAL, GENETIC, AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN ITS PATHOGENESIS. ONE OF THE EFFECTIVE EPIGENETIC FACTORS IS RECOGNIZED AS MICRORNAS (MIRNAS). ON THE OTHER HAND, IT HAS BEEN INDICATED THAT THE SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISM (SNPS) PRESENT WITHIN 3'UTR (3' UNTRANSLATED REGION) OF MRNAS CAN INFLUENCE THE REGULATION OF MIRNA-MEDIATED GENE AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TO A DIVERSITY OF HUMAN DISEASES. METHODS: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ANALYZE THE SNPS WITHIN THE 3'UTR OF MIRNA TARGET GENES ASSOCIATED WITH ADHD. 3'UTR GENETIC VARIANTS WERE IDENTIFIED IN ALL GENES ASSOCIATED WITH ADHD USING DISGENET, DBGAP, OVID, DAVID, WEB OF KNOWLEDGE, AND SNPS DATABASES. MIRNA'S TARGET PREDICTION DATABASES WERE APPLIED IN ORDER TO PREDICT THE MIRNA BINDING SITES. 124 SNPS WITH MAF>0.05 WERE IDENTIFIED LOCATED IN THE BINDING SITE OF THE MIRNA OF 35 GENES AMONGST 51 GENES ASSOCIATED WITH ADHD. RESULTS: BIOINFORMATICS ANALYSIS PREDICTED 81 MRE (MIRNA RECOGNITION ELEMENTS)-CREATING SNPS, 101 MRE-BREAKING SNPS, 61 MRE-ENHANCING SNPS, AND FINALLY PREDICTED 41 MREDECREASING SNPS IN THE 3'UTR OF ADHD-IMPLICATED GENES. THESE CANDIDATE SNPS WITHIN THESE GENES MIRNA BINDING SITES CAN ALTER THE MIRNAS BINDING, AND CONSEQUENTLY, LEAD TO MRNA GENE REGULATION. CONCLUSION: THEREFORE, THESE MIRNA AND MRE-SNPS MAY PLAY IMPORTANT ROLES IN ADHD, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, THEY WOULD BE VALUABLE FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION IN THE FIELD OF FUNCTIONAL VERIFICATION. 2020 19 4525 28 MULTIFACTORIAL CAUSES OF PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA WITH AUDITORY-VISUAL HALLUCINATIONS IN A 31-YEAR-OLD MALE WITH HISTORY OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE. SCHIZOPHRENIA IS A CHRONIC PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER THAT CLASSICALLY PRESENTS WITH DISTORTIONS OF THOUGHT, BEHAVIOR, AND PERCEPTIONS THAT ARE OFTEN MISDIAGNOSED. ONE DIFFICULTY IN DIAGNOSING SCHIZOPHRENIA IS DUE TO ITS PHENOTYPICALLY HETEROGENEOUS CONDITION THAT CAN BE PRECIPITATED BY A COMBINATION OF GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. THE PREVALENCE OF SCHIZOPHRENIA IS ROUGHLY 1%, BUT IT IS OFTEN MISDIAGNOSED. POSSIBLE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSES INCLUDE DEPRESSION OR BIPOLAR DISORDER WITH PSYCHOSIS, PSYCHOSIS DUE TO A MEDICAL CONDITION, SCHIZOTYPAL AND SCHIZOID PERSONALITY DISORDERS, AND NEUROCOGNITIVE DISORDERS. IN THIS CASE REPORT, A 31-YEAR-OLD MALE PRESENTS WITH THOUGHTS OF SUICIDE FOLLOWING A RECENT EXACERBATION OF HIS HALLUCINATIONS. ON PRESENTATION, THE PATIENT PRESENTED WITH A HISTORICAL DIAGNOSIS OF "PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA" AS WELL AS A HISTORY OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI), POLY-SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER, AND A FAMILY HISTORY OF SCHIZOPHRENIA. THIS CASE SERVES TO HIGHLIGHT THE DIFFICULTIES OF MAKING AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS AND PROVIDING EVIDENCED-BASED TREATMENT. 2022 20 6329 47 THE ROLE OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMA IN BIPOLAR DISORDERS. THIS REVIEW WILL DISCUSS THE ROLE OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMA IN BIPOLAR DISORDERS. RELEVANT STUDIES WERE IDENTIFIED VIA MEDLINE (PUBMED) AND PSYCINFO DATABASES PUBLISHED UP TO AND INCLUDING JULY 2015. THIS REVIEW CONTRIBUTES TO A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF THE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF EARLY LIFE STRESS, AS WELL AS SETTING CHILDHOOD TRAUMA IN A BIOLOGICAL CONTEXT OF SUSCEPTIBILITY AND DISCUSSING NOVEL LONG-TERM PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES IN BIPOLAR DISORDERS. CHILDHOOD TRAUMATIC EVENTS ARE RISK FACTORS FOR DEVELOPING BIPOLAR DISORDERS, IN ADDITION TO A MORE SEVERE CLINICAL PRESENTATION OVER TIME (PRIMARILY AN EARLIER AGE AT ONSET AND AN INCREASED RISK OF SUICIDE ATTEMPT AND SUBSTANCE MISUSE). CHILDHOOD TRAUMA LEADS TO ALTERATIONS OF AFFECT REGULATION, IMPULSE CONTROL, AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING THAT MIGHT DECREASE THE ABILITY TO COPE WITH LATER STRESSORS. CHILDHOOD TRAUMA INTERACTS WITH SEVERAL GENES BELONGING TO SEVERAL DIFFERENT BIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS [HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL (HPA) AXIS, SEROTONERGIC TRANSMISSION, NEUROPLASTICITY, IMMUNITY, CALCIUM SIGNALING, AND CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS] TO DECREASE THE AGE AT THE ONSET OF THE DISORDER OR INCREASE THE RISK OF SUICIDE. EPIGENETIC FACTORS MAY ALSO BE INVOLVED IN THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMA IN BIPOLAR DISORDER. BIOLOGICAL SEQUELAE SUCH AS CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, SLEEP DISTURBANCE, OR TELOMERE SHORTENING ARE POTENTIAL MEDIATORS OF THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMA IN BIPOLAR DISORDERS, IN PARTICULAR WITH REGARD TO PHYSICAL HEALTH. THE MAIN CLINICAL IMPLICATION IS TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS CHILDHOOD TRAUMA IN PATIENTS WITH BIPOLAR DISORDERS, OR AT LEAST IN THOSE WITH A SEVERE OR INSTABLE COURSE. THE CHALLENGE FOR THE NEXT YEARS WILL BE TO FILL THE GAP BETWEEN CLINICAL AND FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH AND ROUTINE PRACTICE, SINCE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MANAGING THIS SPECIFIC POPULATION ARE LACKING. IN PARTICULAR, LITTLE IS KNOWN ON WHICH PSYCHOTHERAPIES SHOULD BE PROVIDED OR WHICH TARGETS THERAPISTS SHOULD FOCUS ON, AS WELL AS HOW CHILDHOOD TRAUMA COULD EXPLAIN THE RESISTANCE TO MOOD STABILIZERS. 2016