Identity Narrative Density: Preliminary findings from scoring emotional valence of autobiographical events.

Autobiographical Memory is a form of declarative episodic memory known to have a significant role in identity, self-regulation, and socialization. Conceivably, it may also influence outcome of psychopathology. This is a preliminary report in which the authors are proposing the notion of Identity Narrative (IdN), a set of implicit memories acquired throughout life and consolidated according to a gradient of emotional valence. IdN may constitute an implicit scaffolding for autobiographical memory. Identity Narrative Density (IND) is a score of emotional valence referring to life events that contribute to the construction of an IdN. The authors are proposing an equation of IND that provides a quantitative assessment of an individual's emotional life experiences and possible resilience in the face of trauma and adversities of life.

Brain-behavior relationships in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Advances in neuroimaging have led to a greater understanding of brain-behavior relationships in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This article provides an updated review and analysis of the structural and functional neuroimaging studies in OCD published to date and discusses how evidence from various types of neuroimaging studies has been synthesized to generate and test hypotheses regarding these relationships. We also review the basic science literature on the functional neuroanatomy of cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuits and integrate this information with neuroimaging data in OCD, to present a theoretical model of brain mediation of OCD symptoms and response to treatment. Taken together, neuroimaging studies indicate that OCD symptoms are mediated by hyperactivity in orbitofrontal-subcortical circuits, which may be attributable to an imbalance of tone between direct and indirect striato-pallidal pathways. Serotonergic drugs may ameliorate OCD symptoms by changing the relative balance of tone through the indirect versus direct orbitofrontal-subcortical pathways, thereby decreasing activity in the overall circuit that exists in the symptomatic state.

Prefrontal-subcortical and limbic circuit mediation of major depressive disorder.

Substantial progress has been made in elucidating the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) using functional and structural brain imaging. In functional imaging studies comparing MDD subjects to normal controls at baseline, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activity has been found to be decreased and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) activity has been found to be increased in MDD. Other regions found abnormal in baseline studies include the anterior cingulate gyrus (AC), temporal lobe, and basal ganglia. Studies examining mood state change (using sleep deprivation, sadness-induction, and tryptophan depletion) and changes from pre- to posttreatment have generally shown improvement of these abnormalities with improved MDD symptoms and worsening of these abnormalities with worsening symptoms. In structural imaging studies, decreased frontal lobe, hippocampal, and basal ganglia volumes are the most commonly reported findings. Several associations can be made between clinical features of MDD and brain function: (1) active sad thoughts/sadness with both decreased DLPFC and dorsal AC activity and increased VLPFC and ventral AC activity (2) psychomotor retardation with decreased left prefrontal activity (3) anxiety with increased left AC activity (4) impaired episodic memory with left prefrontal and medial temporal dysfunction and (5) impaired sustained attention with right prefrontal and parietal dysfunction.