Fractal dimension of the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal has been argued to reflect the complexity of the underlying brain processes. To this date, conventional studies of EEG in mood disorders have not been able to distinguish between patients and normal individuals. Here we show that, compared to normal subjects, EEG fractal dimension is significantly augmented in the manic episode of bi...

Fractal dimension of the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal has been argued to reflect the complexity of the underlying brain processes. To this date, conventional studies of EEG in mood disorders have not been able to distinguish between patients and normal individuals. Here we show that, compared to normal subjects, EEG fractal dimension is significantly augmented in the manic episode of bi...

This study investigated the possibility that, in remitted bipolar I affective disorder, dysfunctional attitudes are mood-state dependent. Participants were 120 individuals with remitted bipolar I disorder, remitted unipolar depression, or no history of affective disorder. The Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS; Weissman, 1979) was completed before and after positive or negative mood challenge. ...

Due to several socio-political factors, to many psychiatrists only a strictly objective definition of mental disorder, free of value components, seems really acceptable. In this paper, I will explore a variant of such an objectivist approach to defining metal disorder, natural function objectivism. Proponents of this approach make recourse to the notion of natural function in order to reach a v...

Positive emotions are vital to attaining important goals, nurturing social bonds, and promoting cognitive flexibility. However, one question remains relatively unaddressed: Can positive emotions also be a source of dysfunction and negative outcomes? An ideal point of entry to understand how positive emotion can go awry is bipolar disorder, a psychiatric disorder marked by abnormally elevated po...

The aim of this study is to estimate the frequency of personality disorders in patients with recurrent unipolar or bipolar affective disorders and the possible relationship of the categorical model with two dynamic psychopathological configurations. Forty-eight patients were studied using semi-structured interviews for assessing Axis I and Axis II disorders. We found that approximately 70% of p...

CONTEXT Affective disorders are common in women, with many episodes having an onset in pregnancy or during the postpartum period. OBJECTIVE To investigate the occurrence and timing of perinatal mood episodes in women with bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, and recurrent major depression (RMD). SETTING AND PATIENTS Women were recruited in our ongoing research on the genetic and nongenetic ...

BACKGROUND While nonmedical use of opioids and psychiatric disorders are prevalent in the population, little is known about the temporal ordering between nonmedical opioid use and dependence and psychiatric disorders. METHOD Data were gathered in a face-to-face survey of the United States conducted in the 2001-2002 (NESARC wave 1). Participants were household and group quarters residents aged...