Study Shows Relationship Between Low Unit Cohesion, Suicidal Thoughts

Unit cohesion appears to be an important factor in determining whether soldiers think about suicide during a period after combat exposure, according to a study presented at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting.

U.S. Army researchers surveyed more than 1,600 soldiers from two combat brigades who had been deployed once. The survey was designed to measure of combat exposure, unit cohesion and self-reported thoughts of suicide. Soldiers who reported higher combat exposure and lower unit cohesion had the greatest odds for reporting suicidal thoughts during the previous four weeks. In addition, soldiers with similar combat exposure were more likely to have suicidal thoughts if they reported less unit cohesion.

The research was scheduled for presentation Tuesday, May 17, at the 164th American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting, which is in Honolulu May 14-18.

New Research Poster: Tai Chi Benefits Depressed Older Adults

Use of Tai Chi, a mind-body exercise, in combination with antidepressants, provides additional improvements in older adults with depression, according to new research being presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s Annual Meeting.

Older adults with depression are at increased risk for decline in health functioning, morbidity and mortality, including suicide. Fewer than half of elderly depressed patients achieve remission and functional recovery in response to initial use of antidepressants alone.

Researchers Helen Lavretsky, M.D., M.S., and Michael Irwin, M.D. at UCLA studied a group of older adults with major depression and compared the use of an antidepressant combined with use of Tai-Chi-Chih (TCC, a brief standardized version of Tai Chi) to use of an antidepressant combined with a health education program. The older adults each participated in two hours per week of either Tai Chi or the health education program.

The new research poster was presented Monday, at the APA Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

The Tai Chi and health education participants demonstrated comparable improvement in the severity of depression. However, people in the Tai Chi group demonstrated significantly greater improvement in resilience, health-related quality of life, and cognitive function (memory, attention, and executive function).

Tai-Chi intervention has an advantage in that it is easily translatable to the community and can be readily implemented among adults with physical limitations. Researchers concluded that “complementary mind-body interventions can improve partial response to antidepressants via stress-reduction, improved physical functioning, increased socialization, and reduced risks of polypharmacy.”

New Research: Video Games and Aggression

Players of violent video games have significantly higher feelings of aggression and differences in brain activity during both cognitive motor activity and resting periods, according to research results to be presented by at the American Psychiatric Association’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

There has been increased interest in the influence violent video games on the behavior of players and recent research shows an increase in aggression due to the intensive use of first person shooter games (FPSG) but little is known about the influence of the games on the brain activity.

Researchers led by Gregor R Szycik, Ph.D., with Hannover Medical School in Hannover, Germany, investigated intensive use of first person shooter games on the brain function of young male adults, particularly looking at both the possible impact of such games on morphological and functional structure of the brain and its relation to processing cognitive tasks. Subjects had to complete questionnaires and underwent fMRI scanning while they relaxed.

The research poster (#NR3-12) was presented May 24 at the APA Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

The groups differed in the aggression scores, with the FPSG players showing significantly higher levels of felt aggression. The research also showed differences in brain activity during cognitive and motor resting periods between the FPSG users and the control group. “This frontal increase in DMN may indicate executive dysfunctions of FPSG users having influence on the high scores in the aggression questionnaire,” the researchers concluded.

In addition to Szycik other member of the research team included Bahram Mohammadi, M.D., Thomas F. Münte, M.D., Amir Samii, M.D., Wolfgang Dillo, M.D., and Bert T te Wildt, M.D.

Preparing for Natural Disasters Addressed at Meeting

Preparing for and responding to natural disasters, including lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, will be the focus of several sessions at the 2010 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, the city devastated by flooding that followed Katrina in 2005.

New Orleans psychiatrist Edward Foulks, M.D., Ph.D., says New Orleans residents had different reactions to Katrina. “Many people have major scars from Katrina and its aftermath. People with preexisting schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or depression often developed PTSD. Some could not take [the hardships] and presented a clinical challenge to the system, but many people came out of the experience with a new role in life. It brought out the best in them.”

Disaster sessions at the annual meeting include a workshop on reorganizing the New Orleans health delivery system chaired by Elmore Rigamer, M.D., a workshop on disaster preparedness and rebuilding chaired by Erich Conrad, M.D., and a symposium on lessons learned from Katrina featuring Ronald C. Kessler, Ph.D., Kenneth Thompson, M.D., Anthony Speier, Ph.D., Howard J. Osofsky, M.D., and Joy D. Osofsky, Ph.D.

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