Emotional and interpersonal mechanisms in community SSRI treatment of social anxiety disorder.

Background: Affective and interpersonal behavioural patterns characteristic of social anxiety disorder show improvement during treatment with serotonin agonists (e.g., selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), commonly used in the treatment of social anxiety disorder.

Affect, interpersonal behaviour and interpersonal perception during open-label, uncontrolled paroxetine treatment of people with social anxiety disorder: a pilot study.

Background: Laboratory-based research with community samples has suggested changes in affective, behavioural and cognitive processes as possible explanations for the effects of serotonergic medications. Examining the effects of serotonergic medications using an ecological momentary measure (such as event-contingent recording) in the daily lives of people with social anxiety disorder would contribute to establishing the effects of these medications on affect, behaviour and one form of cognition: perception of others’ behaviour.

Methods: The present study assessed changes in affect, interpersonal behaviour and perception of others’ behaviour in adults with social anxiety disorder using ecological momentary assessment at baseline and over 4 months of a single-arm, uncontrolled, open-label trial of treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor paroxetine.

Brain serotonin synthesis capacity in obsessive-compulsive disorder: effects of cognitive behavioral therapy and sertraline.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are both effective treatments for some patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), yet little is known about the neurochemical changes related to these treatment modalities. Here, we used positron emission tomography and the α-[C]methyl-L-tryptophan tracer to examine the changes in brain regional serotonin synthesis capacity in OCD patients following treatment with CBT or SSRI treatment. Sixteen medication-free OCD patients were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of either CBT or sertraline treatment.

Assessing suitability for short-term cognitive-behavioral therapy in psychiatric outpatients with psychosis: a comparison with depressed and anxious outpatients.

Objective: The Suitability for Short-Term Cognitive Therapy (SSCT) rating procedure has predicted outcome in depressed and anxious patients. This study examines its relevance in assessing patients with psychosis.

Method: Outpatients with psychosis (n=56), depression (n=93), and anxiety (n=264) received cognitive- behavioral therapy in a university hospital teaching unit (mean number of sessions=16, SD=11).

Brain regional α-[11C]methyl-L-tryptophan trapping in medication-free patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Context: The hypothesis of a serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) dysfunction in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) stems largely from the clinical efficacy of 5-HT reuptake inhibitors. Serotonergic abnormalities in the unmedicated symptomatic state, however, remain to be fully characterized.

Objective: To investigate brain regional 5-HT synthesis, as indexed by positron emission tomography and the α-[(11)C]methyl-L-tryptophan trapping constant (K*), in treatment-free adults meeting criteria for OCD.

Social behaviour and mood in everyday life: the effects of tryptophan in quarrelsome individuals.

Objective: We hypothesized that increasing brain serotonin in healthy individuals with high scores on 2 self-report measures of trait quarrelsomeness would reduce quarrelsome behaviours and enhance agreeable behaviours when measured ecologically using an event-contingent recording method.

Methods: We conducted a double-blind crossover study, in which participants took tryptophan (3 g/d) and placebo for 15 days each and recorded how they behaved, felt and perceived others during everyday social interactions.

Results: Tryptophan significantly decreased quarrelsome behaviours and increased agreeable behaviours and perceptions of agreeableness.

Public awareness about depression: the effectiveness of a patient guideline.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a patient guideline for educating the public in the recognition and treatment of depression.

Method: Lay subjects were interviewed regarding their knowledge and beliefs about depression through the use of a semi-structured questionnaire. They were asked to "think aloud" while evaluating two clinical scenarios about depression, both with and without the use of a patient guideline.

Tryptophan, serotonin and human social behavior.

Animals research suggests that increasing serotonin can decrease aggression, increase affiliative behaviors and increase dominant behaviors. We tested the relevance of these data to humans by giving 100 healthy people tryptophan (1 g after each meal) and placebo, each for 12 days in a double-blind cross-over study. Social behaviors were studied using an event sampling method in which subjects filled in a one page questionnaire about their behaviors after each social interaction lasting at least 5 minutes.

Treatment seeking for obsessive-compulsive disorder: role of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms and comorbid psychiatric diagnoses.

Previous research has indicated that individuals afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have a very low rate of seeking help from mental health professionals. From standardized psychiatric interviews of 7,214 residents of Edmonton, Canada, we identified 172 subjects with a lifetime diagnosis of OCD; 63 (36.6%) had consulted a doctor about their symptoms.