In a sample of early post-menarchal female adolescents, this study examined sleep regularity in relation to depression symptoms, circadian rhythms, and chronotype preference. Sixty-six female adolescents, aged 11–14 and within fifteen months post-menarche, completed a one-week sleep and circadian rhythm assessment involving self-reported sleep behaviors, 24-h sleep monitoring using wrist actigraphy, and serial cortisol and 6-sulfatoxymelatonin collections for four days. Sleep regularity was operationalized as the probability of being in the same wake/sleep state at any two timepoints 24 h apart (i.e., sleep regularity index (SRI)). Reduced SRI was associated with higher depressive symptoms (F [1,273] = 18.65, p = < .0001), as were eveningness chronotype (F [1,273] = 21.13, p = < .0001), sleep duration (F [1,273] = 6.25, p = .01), and self-reported life stress (F [1,273] = 22.82, p = < .0001). The interaction between SRI and chronotype was also a predictor of increased depression (F [1,273] = 18.65, p = < .0001), such that eveningness and low sleep regularity predicted higher scores. Sleep regularity was not significantly associated with cortisol awakening response, cortisol slope, or overnight melatonin levels. Sleep regularity appears linked to altered mood in early post-menarchal girls. Further research linking sleep regularity to physiological processes governing sleep is warranted. Interventions targeting sleep regularity stand to improve mental health outcomes, as well as promote healthy developmental trajectories for affect regulation.

The question of whether Irrealis is a meaningful concept in crosslinguistic comparison has been the subject of long-standing controversy. In this article, we argue that the semantic domain of irreality is split into two domains—the possible and the counterfactual—and that an ‘irrealis’ marker in a given language may refer either to only one of these domains or to both. A significant part of the crosslinguistic variation in what is referred to by the term irrealis can be traced back to this distinction. Other factors that obscure the realis/irrealis divide include functional subdivisions of the irrealis domain and paradigmatic competition within the TAM system of a language. We conclude that ‘irrealis’ is a crosslinguistically meaningful notion.

Disruptions in circadian rhythms and sleep have long been associated with mood disorders. In fact, sleep disturbances are one of the key features used in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V-TR) diagnosis of major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. Sleep/wake abnormalities can also precede mood episodes and predict treatment response. Thus, precise measurement of specific sleep/circadian features is important as these measures can be used clinically to direct appropriate treatments. These measures can also be used for research purposes to try to understand specific mechanisms by which circadian rhythm disturbances and sleep/wake perturbations may lead to specific phenotypes. The purpose of this review is to highlight recent advances in methodology which can be used to more precisely measure sleep/circadian biology. This review will examine how these new methodologies can better elucidate the mechanisms linking sleep/circadian disruptions and mood disorders, as well as how new technologies can be used therapeutically to treat sleep/circadian abnormalities.

Interest in women’s brain health has grown rapidly. However, the terms ‘menopause’ and ‘hormone therapy’ have been used as general concepts embracing different types of menopause and treatments. In this editorial, we make a plea for accurate description of each type to generate precision evidence.

For over four decades, isotretinoin has shown unparalleled efficacy in the management of severe recalcitrant acne. However, controversies exist about its psychiatric safety profile. This editorial discusses the alleged causal role of isotretinoin in the development of psychiatric adverse events in light of the best available evidence.

While there is evidence that long-chain n-3 PUFA supplementation benefits mood, the extent to which a single high dose of n-3 PUFA can induce acute mood effects has not been examined. The present study investigated whether a single dose of a DHA-rich powder affects self-reported mood in middle-aged males during elevated cognitive demand. In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with a balanced crossover design, twenty-nine healthy males (age M = 52.8 years, sd = 5.3) were administered a powder (in a meal) containing 4·74 g n-3 PUFA (DHA 4020 mg; EPA 720 mg) or placebo in random order on two different testing days separated by a washout period of 7 ± 3 d. Participants completed mood assessments before and after completing two cognitive test batteries at baseline and again 3·5–4·0 h following the consumption of the active treatment or placebo. While completion of the cognitive test batteries increased negative mood, differential effects for alertness (P = 0·008) and stress (P = 0·04) followed consumption of the DHA-rich powder compared with placebo. Although alertness declined when completing the cognitive batteries, it was higher following consumption of the DHA-rich powder compared with placebo (P = 0·006). Conversely, stress was lower following consumption of the DHA-rich powder relative to placebo, though this difference only approached significance (P = 0·05). Overall, results from this pilot study demonstrate that a single high dose of n-3 PUFA may deliver acute mood benefits following elevated cognitive demand in healthy middle-aged males.

Research has demonstrated that positive and negative moods may differently affect semantic processing due to the activation of mood-dependent thinking. Interestingly, recent studies have indicated that the interplay between mood and semantic processing may also be modulated by the language of operation (native [L1] vs. second language [L2]). Still, it remains an open question if and how mood interacts with varying depths of semantic processing, particularly in bilinguals. Here, we show that a negative mood may differently modulate shallow and deep semantic processing in bilinguals at a behavioral level. In two experiments, Polish–English bilinguals, induced into positive and negative moods, performed a lexical decision task (marking shallow semantic processing; Experiment 1) and a semantic decision task (marking deep semantic processing; Experiment 2) with sentences in L1 and L2 of varying semantic complexity: literal, novel metaphoric, and anomalous sentences. While no interactive mood–language effect was observed for shallow semantic processing, we found faster semantic judgments when bilinguals were in a negative relative to positive mood in L2, but not L1, for deep semantic processing. These findings suggest that a negative mood may activate more analytical and effort-maximizing thinking in L2, yet only when the linguistic content requires deeper understanding.

Previous studies show that maternal mind-mindedness positively impacts children’s social development. In the current studies, we examine the relation between mind-mindedness during parent–child interaction, oxytocin (OT), and postnatal depression in a sample of mothers (N = 62, ages 23–44) and their infant (ages 3–9 months). In Study 1, infant salivary OT was positively correlated with mothers’ appropriate mind-related comments, and negatively correlated (at trend level) with maternal depression scores. Mothers experiencing symptoms of depression used fewer appropriate mind-related comments than controls. Study 2 was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, experimental study, in which the same women who participated in Study 1 were administered nasal OT. This did not significantly influence levels of mind-mindedness. Study 2 warrants a larger trial to investigate the effect of OT on mind-mindedness further. Study 1 is the first to demonstrate an association between maternal mind-mindedness and variation in children’s OT levels. Since both OT and mind-mindedness have been repeatedly implicated in processes of maternal–infant attachment, this association highlights the centrality of mothers’ caregiving representations in facilitating the parent–child relationship and children’s early development.

We examined the efficacy of cognitive and behavioral interventions for improving symptoms of depression and anxiety in adults with neurological disorders. A pre-registered systematic search of Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, and Neurobite was performed from inception to May 2024. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which examined the efficacy of cognitive and behavioral interventions in treating depression and/or anxiety among adults with neurological disorders were included. Estimates were pooled using a random-effects meta-analysis. Subgroup analyses and meta-regression were performed on categorical and continuous moderators, respectively. Main outcomes were pre- and post-intervention depression and anxiety symptom scores, as reported using standardized measures. Fifty-four RCTs involving 5372 participants with 11 neurological disorders (including multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, stroke) were included. The overall effect of interventions yielded significant improvements in both depression (57 arms, Hedges' g = 0.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.35–0.54) and anxiety symptoms (29 arms, g = 0.38, 95% CI 0.29–0.48), compared to controls. Efficacy was greater in studies which employed a minimum baseline symptom severity inclusion criterion for both outcomes, and greater in trials using inactive controls for depression only. There was also evidence of differential efficacy of interventions across the neurological disorder types and the outcome measure used. Risk of bias, intervention delivery mode, intervention tailoring for neurological disorders, sample size, and study year did not moderate effects. Cognitive and behavioral interventions yield small-to-moderate improvements in symptoms of both depression and anxiety in adults with a range of neurological disorders.