TY  - JOUR
AB  - BACKGROUND: The use of cannabis in adolescence and early adulthood, critical phases for brain development, is linked to psychotic-like experiences (PLEs). The underlying mechanisms, however, remain unclear. This research examined the relationship between recreational cannabis use and PLEs, emphasizing the connectivity of the salience network (SN), which plays a role in salience processing and psychosis. To determine whether this relationship reflects shared genetic or environmental contributions, twin modeling was used. METHODS: We included 232 healthy adolescent Turkish twins who underwent diffusion MRI and psychometric assessment. SN connectivity was quantified using graph theory metrics. Linear mixed models were used to examine the associations among cannabis use, SN factors, and PLEs. Mediation analyses assessed whether SN parameters explained the cannabis-PLEs association. Twin models disentangle genetic and environmental contributions to these traits and their covariation. RESULTS: Cannabis use was significantly associated with higher overall PLE frequency. A specific SN factor predicted both total and positive PLEs. However, SN connectivity did not mediate the cannabis-PLEs relationship. Twin modeling showed that cannabis use and PLEs were mainly influenced by unique environmental factors. No significant phenotypic covariations were found among cannabis use, PLEs, and SN parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Recreational cannabis use during adolescence and young adulthood is associated with heightened PLEs, although this association is not mediated by SN connectivity. The environment plays an important role during adolescence in shaping these traits independently. The findings underscore the need for longitudinal and genetically informed studies to clarify the mental health effects of adolescent cannabis use.
AU  - Atmaca Turan H.E.
AU  - Şahin-Çevik, D.*
AU  - Çakar, S.*
AU  - Gökalp-Yavuz, F.*
AU  - van den Heuvel, M.C.*
AU  - Rijsdijk, F.*
AU  - Filbey, F.*
AU  - Toulopoulou, T.*
C1  - 75717
C2  - 58215
CY  - Edinburgh Bldg, Shaftesbury Rd, Cb2 8ru Cambridge, England
TI  - The relationship between recreational cannabis use, psychotic-like experiences, and the salience network in adolescent and young adult twins.
JO  - Psychol. Med.
VL  - 55
PB  - Cambridge Univ Press
PY  - 2025
SN  - 0033-2917
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - BACKGROUND: Leptin is thought to act as an important mediator in stress reactions. To date, no study has examined the association between psychological stress and leptin levels in children. This study aimed to assess the association between emotional symptoms and peer problems and serum leptin levels in children aged 10 years of the two population-based GINI-plus and LISA-plus birth cohorts. Method Cross-sectional data from 2827 children aged 10 years were assessed with regard to leptin concentrations in serum and behavioral problems using the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Linear regression modeling was applied to determine the likelihood of elevated leptin levels in children with emotional symptoms and peer problems, controlling for socio-economic status (SES), body mass index (BMI), fasting serum leptin levels, pubertal development and sex hormones. RESULTS: We found that increases in emotional symptoms (exp β adj = 1.03, s.e. = 0.02, p < 0.04) and peer problems (exp β adj = 1.05, s.e. = 0.01, p = 0.0001) were significantly associated with higher serum leptin levels controlled for BMI and sociodemographic factors. Similar results were found when the fasting serum leptin sample was examined (exp β adj = 1.08, s.e. = 0.04, p = 0.0294). Gender-stratified analyses showed a significant relationship between serum leptin and peer problems in girls (exp β adj = 1.05, s.e. = 0.02, p = 0.03), and a borderline significant association in boys (exp β adj = 1.04, s.e. = 0.02, p = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Children with peer problems have higher stress and eat more, acquire a higher body fat mass and thus, through increased leptin resistance, exhibit higher leptin levels.
AU  - Kohlboeck, G.
AU  - Romanos, M.*
AU  - Tiesler, C.M.
AU  - Koletzko, S.*
AU  - Kratzsch, J.*
AU  - Thiery, J.*
AU  - Bauer, C.P.*
AU  - von Berg, A.*
AU  - Berdel, D.*
AU  - Hoffmann, B.*
AU  - Schaaf, B.*
AU  - Lehmann, I.*
AU  - Herbarth, O.*
AU  - Heinrich, J.
AU  - GINIplus Study Group (Heinrich, J.
AU  - Wichmann, H.-E.)
AU  - LISAplus Study Group (Heinrich, J.
AU  - Wichmann, H.-E.)
C1  - 28184
C2  - 32997
CY  - New York
SP  - 255-265
TI  - Peer problems are associated with elevated serum leptin levels in children.
JO  - Psychol. Med.
VL  - 44
IS  - 2
PB  - Cambridge Univ. Press
PY  - 2014
SN  - 0033-2917
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - BACKGROUND: Postpartum depression (PPD) affects approximately 13% of women and has a negative impact on mother and infant, hence reliable biological tests for early detection of PPD are essential. We aimed to identify robust predictive biomarkers for PPD using peripheral blood gene expression profiles in a hypothesis-free genome-wide study in a high-risk, longitudinal cohort. Method We performed a genome-wide association study in a longitudinal discovery cohort comprising 62 women with psychopathology. Gene expression and hormones were measured in the first and third pregnancy trimesters and early postpartum (201 samples). The replication cohort comprised 24 women with third pregnancy trimester gene expression measures. Gene expression was measured on Illumina-Human HT12 v4 microarrays. Plasma estradiol and estriol were measured. Statistical analysis was performed in R. RESULTS: We identified 116 transcripts differentially expressed between the PPD and euthymic women during the third trimester that allowed prediction of PPD with an accuracy of 88% in both discovery and replication cohorts. Within these transcripts, significant enrichment of transcripts implicated that estrogen signaling was observed and such enrichment was also evident when analysing published gene expression data predicting PPD from a non-risk cohort. While plasma estrogen levels were not different across groups, women with PPD displayed an increased sensitivity to estrogen signaling, confirming the previously proposed hypothesis of increased sex-steroid sensitivity as a susceptibility factor for PPD. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that PPD can be robustly predicted in currently euthymic women as early as the third trimester and these findings have implications for predictive testing of high-risk women and prevention and treatment for PPD.
AU  - Mehta, D.*
AU  - Newport, D.J.*
AU  - Frishman, G.
AU  - Kraus, L.*
AU  - Rex-Haffner, M.*
AU  - Ritchie, J.C.*
AU  - Lori, A.*
AU  - Knight, B.T.*
AU  - Stagnaro, E.*
AU  - Ruepp, A.
AU  - Stowe, Z.N.*
AU  - Binder, E.B.*
C1  - 29313
C2  - 33776
CY  - New York
SP  - 2309-2322
TI  - Early predictive biomarkers for postpartum depression point to a role for estrogen receptor signaling.
JO  - Psychol. Med.
VL  - 44
IS  - 11
PB  - Cambridge Univ Press
PY  - 2014
SN  - 0033-2917
ER  -