The Relationship Between the Big Five Personality Traits,Impulsivity, and Anabolic Steroid Use

Background: The increase in the prevalence of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) use has been the subject of study in the last decades. Several studies indicated a strong association between the use of AAS and the performance of risky behaviors mediated by factors such as aggression, impulsivity, depression, and anxiety. Objective: This study aimed to identify differences in personality trait, impulsivity, and the ability to delay gratification between AAS users and non-users that predispose or serve as a buffering mechanism against its usage and whether it is related to an increased likelihood of engaging in infidelity. Methods: Two hundred and twelve male volunteers (88 AAS users), aged between 21 and 36?years (M = 28.22), completed self-report measures of personality, impulsivity, delayed gratification, and attitudes toward infidelity. Multivariate analysis of variance and logistic regression were conducted to establish differences between AAS users and non-users. Results: The results showed that AAS users displayed an inability to delay gratification, a greater impulsivity, and a more benevolent attitude toward infidelity. AAS users obtained higher scores on openness and neuroticism, which was larger “off-cycle,” although they presented lower scores on extraversion compared to the non-users group. Regression analysis revealed that neuroticism, impulsivity, and delaying gratification scores were significant predictors of AAS usage. In addition, impulsivity functioned as a partial mediator in the relationship between neuroticism and AAS use. Conclusion: The results of this research highlight a pivotal implication of impulsivity in AAS use in conjunction with neuroticism, openness, and extraversion traits.     

Facets of Impulsivity and Compulsivity in Women with Anorexia Nervosa

This study sought to investigate independent associations of impulsivity and compulsivity with eating disorder (ED) symptoms. Women (N = 81) with full or subthreshold Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV anorexia nervosa (AN) completed a semi‐structured interview and self‐report questionnaires. Multiple regression analyses were conducted using ED symptoms as dependent variables and facets of impulsivity and compulsivity as predictor variables (controlling for body mass index and AN diagnostic subtype). For impulsivity facets, lack of perseverance was uniquely associated with eating concern, shape concern and restraint, whereas negative urgency was uniquely associated with eating concern and frequency of loss of control eating; neither sensation seeking nor lack of premeditation was uniquely associated with any ED variables. Compulsivity was uniquely associated with restraint, eating concern and weight concern. Results support independent associations of impulsivity and compulsivity with ED symptoms in adults with AN, suggesting potential utility in addressing both impulsive and compulsive processes in treatment. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.     

Volume of motor area predicts motor impulsivity

Impulsivity is a personality trait associated with many maladaptive behaviors. Trait impulsivity is typically divided into three different dimensions, including attentional impulsiveness, motor impulsiveness, and non‐planning impulsiveness. In the present study, we examined the neuroanatomical basis of the multidimensional impulsivity trait. Eighty‐four healthy participants were studied with structural magnetic resonance imaging. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the score of motor impulsiveness was negatively correlated with gray matter volumes of the right supplementary motor area and paracentral lobule. A machine‐learning‐based prediction analysis indicated that decreased gray matter volumes of the supplementary motor area and paracentral lobule strongly predicted the decrease in motor impulsiveness control. Our findings provide insights into the predictive role of motor brain structures in motor impulsivity and inhibition control.     

Hyperactivity and Delay Aversion III: The Effect on Cognitive Style of Imposing Delay After Errors

The claim that impulsiveness associated with hyperactivity is the result of deficits in inhibition of responses over time was examined. The cognitive style of hyperactive children was studied under two conditions. As in previous studies hyperactive children appeared impulsive (i.e. gave shorter latencies and made more errors than controls) under conditions where this style led to shorter trials. In contrast, in a revised condition where each error led to an enforced/fixed trial length, hyperactive children waited as long as controls before responding, but still made more errors. Hyperactive children withheld responses when this offered them the best chance of avoiding extra delay. They were however, unable to use the extra time provided as effectively as controls. The link between hyperactive children's aversion to delay and their poor use of time is discussed.     

Increased AMPA Receptor Function in Slices Containing the Prefrontal Cortex of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) are used as a genetic model for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), since they have behavioral characteristics that mimic the major symptoms of ADHD. We have previously shown that dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems are altered in the prefrontal cortex of SHR compared to normotensive Wistar–Kyoto (WKY) control rats. We also showed that neural circuits that use glutamate as a neurotransmitter increased norepinephrine release from rat prefrontal cortex slices and that glutamate caused significantly greater release of norepinephrine from prefrontal cortex slices of SHR than from those of WKY. The effect of glutamate did not appear to be mediated by NMDA receptors, since NMDA did not exert any effect on norepinephrine release and the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 did not reduce the effect of glutamate. In this investigation we show that the stimulatory effect of glutamate is greater in SHR than in WKY and that the effect can be antagonised by the -amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) receptor antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX). The results suggest that glutamatergic neuron terminals in rat prefrontal cortex establish synaptic contacts with noradrenergic terminals to enhance norepinephrine release by activation of AMPA receptors and that this enhancement is amplified in SHR.     

ADHD儿童亚分类与人格类型的关系

目的探讨注意力缺损多动障碍(ADHD)两个亚类型多动一冲动型和唤醒不足型与内外倾人格类型的相关性。方法从450名二～四年级小学生中筛选出ADHD儿童10名,使用艾森克人格问卷(儿童版)与“注意力障碍教师评定量表”进行测验。结果①内倾的儿重更容易表现出注意力缺损的阴性症状,以唤醒不足为主要特征。②外倾的儿童更容易表现出注意力缺损的阳性症状,以多动与冲动为主要特征。③女性儿童更容易表现出唤醒不足症状,而男性儿童则不存在这种倾向。结论内外倾人格特征的儿童在注意力障碍上有不同表现。     

首次住院的青少年抑郁障碍患者非自杀性自伤行为与冲动性的关系

目的 探讨伴有非自杀性自伤（NSSI）行为的青少年抑郁障碍患者在冲动性方面的特征,分析NSSI行为与冲动性的关系,以便早期识别有NSSI行为风险的患者并及时干预。方法 采取顺序入组的方式,选取在深圳市康宁医院首次住院的青少年抑郁障碍患者共53例,根据《精神障碍诊断与统计手册（第5版）》（DSM-5）诊断标准评估患者有无NSSI行为,将患者分为伴NSSI行为组（n=30）和不伴NSSI行为组（n=23）。采用汉密尔顿抑郁量表17项版（HAMD-17）、青少年自我伤害问卷和Barratt冲动性量表（BIS-11）评定患者抑郁情绪、自伤严重程度和冲动性。结果 伴NSSI行为组HAMD-17评分[（25.50±4.10）分vs.(21.43±4.64)分,t=3.379,P<0.01]、BIS-11运动冲动性[（51.67±15.95）分vs.(38.70±14.90)分,t=3.018,P<0.01]、认知冲动性[（52.75±13.22）分vs.(43.37±18.40)分,t=2.161,P<0.05]、无计划冲动性[（68.00±15.32）分vs.(50.76±21...     

Obesity and Psychological Factors Associated with Weight Loss after Bariatric Surgery: A Longitudinal Study

Bariatric surgery is indicated for treatment of severely obese people and can lead to significant weight loss as well as reduction of comorbidities associated with obesity. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between different psychological factors (e.g., tendency to binge eating, impulsivity, alexithymia), adherence to the nutritional plan, and weight loss after bariatric surgery. Forty-five candidates for bariatric surgery accessing a center for the care of obesity were assessed at T0 (pre-surgery) and T1 (6 months post-surgery) through anthropometric and psychometric measures. Simple linear correlations and linear regressions were conducted to evaluate the relationship between the psychological variables, adherence to nutritional plan, and weight loss 6 months after bariatric surgery. Non-planning impulsivity was the principal factor that succeeded in explaining adherence to the diet plan among all the variables considered. Adherence to the nutritional plan and non-planning impulsivity were considered reliable short-term predictors of weight loss after bariatric surgery. This evidence explains the usefulness of promoting research on psychological predictors of outcome in bariatric surgery. Mid- and long-term weight maintenance and quality of life need to be investigated through further follow-up.     

The subthalamic nucleus,oscillations, and conflict

The subthalamic nucleus (STN), which is currently the most common target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease (PD), has received increased attention over the past few years for the roles it may play in functions beyond simple motor control. In this article, we highlight several of the theoretical, interventional, and electrophysiological studies that have implicated the STN in response inhibition. Most influential among this evidence has been the reported effect of STN DBS in increasing impulsive responses in the laboratory setting. Yet, how this relates to pathological impulsivity in patients' everyday lives remains uncertain. © 2015 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society