We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to .
To save content items to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
Studying phenotypic and genetic characteristics of age at onset (AAO) and polarity at onset (PAO) in bipolar disorder can provide new insights into disease pathology and facilitate the development of screening tools.
To examine the genetic architecture of AAO and PAO and their association with bipolar disorder disease characteristics.
Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and polygenic score (PGS) analyses of AAO (n = 12 977) and PAO (n = 6773) were conducted in patients with bipolar disorder from 34 cohorts and a replication sample (n = 2237). The association of onset with disease characteristics was investigated in two of these cohorts.
Earlier AAO was associated with a higher probability of psychotic symptoms, suicidality, lower educational attainment, not living together and fewer episodes. Depressive onset correlated with suicidality and manic onset correlated with delusions and manic episodes. Systematic differences in AAO between cohorts and continents of origin were observed. This was also reflected in single-nucleotide variant-based heritability estimates, with higher heritabilities for stricter onset definitions. Increased PGS for autism spectrum disorder (β = −0.34 years, s.e. = 0.08), major depression (β = −0.34 years, s.e. = 0.08), schizophrenia (β = −0.39 years, s.e. = 0.08), and educational attainment (β = −0.31 years, s.e. = 0.08) were associated with an earlier AAO. The AAO GWAS identified one significant locus, but this finding did not replicate. Neither GWAS nor PGS analyses yielded significant associations with PAO.
AAO and PAO are associated with indicators of bipolar disorder severity. Individuals with an earlier onset show an increased polygenic liability for a broad spectrum of psychiatric traits. Systematic differences in AAO across cohorts, continents and phenotype definitions introduce significant heterogeneity, affecting analyses.
Physical activity (PA) may be therapeutic for people with severe mental illness (SMI) who generally have low PA and experience numerous life style-related medical complications. We conducted a meta-review of PA interventions and their impact on health outcomes for people with SMI, including schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder. We searched major electronic databases until January 2018 for systematic reviews with/without meta-analysis that investigated PA for any SMI. We rated the quality of studies with the AMSTAR tool, grading the quality of evidence, and identifying gaps, future research needs and clinical practice recommendations. For MDD, consistent evidence indicated that PA can improve depressive symptoms versus control conditions, with effects comparable to those of antidepressants and psychotherapy. PA can also improve cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life in people with MDD, although the impact on physical health outcomes was limited. There were no differences in adverse events versus control conditions. For MDD, larger effect sizes were seen when PA was delivered at moderate-vigorous intensity and supervised by an exercise specialist. For schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, evidence indicates that aerobic PA can reduce psychiatric symptoms, improves cognition and various subdomains, cardiorespiratory fitness, whilst evidence for the impact on anthropometric measures was inconsistent. There was a paucity of studies investigating PA in bipolar disorder, precluding any definitive recommendations. No cost effectiveness analyses in any SMI condition were identified. We make multiple recommendations to fill existing research gaps and increase the use of PA in routine clinical care aimed at improving psychiatric and medical outcomes.
Summary
In the decade immediately following the discovery of REM sleep (Aserinsky and Kleitman, 1953), scientists in the United States and in Europe made a second, striking observation (Jouvet-Mounier et al., 1970; Roffwarg et al., 1966; Valatx et al., 1964). In several mammalian species, including humans, REM sleep amounts were two to three times higher in infancy than in adulthood, and then declined dramatically across development. This basic ontogenetic pattern has now been observed in a wide variety of mammals (Davis et al., 1999; Thurber et al., 2008; Walker and Berger, 1980) and suggests that REM sleep may play a crucial role in brain development. In this chapter, I review the evidence in support of this general hypothesis. I begin with an overview of several landmark events in the ontogenesis of sleep and sleep regulation to provide context to the more function-based discussions that follow. I then discuss the results of several studies that provide indirect or suggestive evidence of a role for REM sleep in general brain maturation. This is followed by a review of findings in the developing visual system that more specifically address a possible role for REM sleep in brain development and plasticity.
Pedigree and marker data from a multiple-generation pig selection experiment have been analysed to screen for loci affecting quantitative traits (QTL). Pigs from a base population were selected either for low backfat thickness at fixed live weight (L-line) or high live weight at fixed age (F-line). Selection was based on single-trait own performance and DNA was available on selected individuals only. Genotypes for three marker loci with known positions on chromosome 4 were available. The transmission/disequilibrium test (TDT) was originally described in human genetics to test for linkage between a genetic marker and a disease-susceptibility locus, in the presence of association. Here, we adapt the TDT to test for linkage between a marker and QTL favoured by selection, and for linkage disequilibrium between them in the base population. The a priori unknown distribution of the test statistic under the null hypothesis, no linkage, was obtained via Monte Carlo simulation. Significant TDT statistics were found for markers AFABP and SW818 in the F-line, indicating the presence of a closely linked QTL affecting growth performance. In the L-line, none of the markers studied showed significance. This study emphasizes the potential of the TDT as a quick and simple approach to screen for QTL in situations where marker genotypes are available on selected individuals. The results suggest that previously identified QTL in crosses of genetically diverse breeds may also segregate in commercial selection lines.
Email your librarian or administrator to recommend adding this to your organisation's collection.