Dear colleagues,
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the fourth issue of 2012.
In our first article Benninghoff and colleagues provided a critical review of the current scientific literature on the effects of serotonin transporter (SERT) in adult neurogenesis and neuroplasticity. According to their findings the impact of serotonin (5-HT) on neuroplasticity and neurogenesis is not due to SERT-medicated effects. Instead serotonergic fine-tuning may be exerted by a number of other different mechanisms including endogenous production of 5-HT in adult neural stem cells.
Dunne and McLoughlin compared the efficacy and side effects of bifrontal (BF) electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to bitemporal (BT) and unilateral (RUL) ECT in depression. They concluded that BF ECT is not more effective than BT or RUL ECT but it may have modest short term benefits for specific memory domains and thus potential advantages.
Mikoteit et al. investigated the connection of the activity of the NREM Stage 2 sleep spindle to psychosocial stress response and coping strategies in healthy kindergarten children. They found out that an increased number of NREM Stage 2 sleep spindles correlated positively with increased high ego-involvement strategies.
Poustka and colleagues examined the fronto-temporal disconnectivity and symptom severity in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Their results support the hypothesis of abnormal white matter microstructure in fronto-temporal cortical networks in ASD which are associated with core symptoms of the disorder.
Cormand et al. evaluated the contribution of nine genes involved in the dopaminergic neurotransmission to the aetiology of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They found out that DRD1 is involved in childhood ADHD.
Altink and colleagues performed a genome-wide association study to identify genes contributing to motor coordination problems in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Their findings provide clues about the aetiology of motor coordination problems like, e.g., motor neuropathy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, but replication studies in independent samples are required.
Pivac et al. investigated the association between brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met variants and psychotic symptoms in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their study shows that veterans with psychotic PTSD carried more Met alleles of the BDNF Val66Met than their non-psychotic colleagues and veterans without PTSD.
Zohar and colleagues describe the acute obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in veterans with posttraumatic disorder (PTSD) shortly after the exposure to traumatic events. In all cases the OCD symptoms were initially related to the trauma but later became generalized and independent. The results suggest a potential environmental role in the development of OCD following an exposure to a traumatic event.
Yours sincerely,
Siegfried Kasper, MD
Chief Editor