The exposition of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB) in aggression-intruding behavior in Wistar rat were assessed. Rodents in the experimental group (Group A, n= 6) were orally infused with AFB diluted in dimethylsulfoxide administered 0.3mg/kg/day on days 1 12. Controls received distilled water similarly on days 1-12 days (Group B). For the observation, an intruder was introduced into the cage containing the residents who are experimental rats treated with Aflatoxin and rats in the control treated with distilled water. Records of observations of territorial aggressive behaviours exhibited by the experimental and control rats towards the inntruder were recorded. Each rat was given 3 trials of 5 minutes each. The study utilized the Randomized Blocked TwoWay ANOVA (factors time line × treatment) followed by a post-hoc analysis using Bonferroni correction to analyse the data and Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results demonstrated that exposure to Aflatoxin significantly influenced aggressive behaviour among Wistar rats F (1,322) = 29.89, p < 0.001, η2= .09. Aflatoxin-treated animals significantly exhibited more aggressive behaviour than animals treated with distilled water (Bonferonni= 4.04, p<.001). Exposure time to Aflatoxin interacted with treatment to significantly influence aggressive behaviour among Wistar rats F (1,322) = 3.26, p < 0.001, η2= .10. Mean comparison reveals that there was no significant difference in aggressive behaviour of Aflatoxin treated and the distilled water treated rats from day 1-7. However, significant differences was observed from the 8th day onward to the 12th day. Aggressive behaviour increased by 10% as the chronic exposure increase more than seven days. It was concluded that aflatoxin induced toxicity in rodents influenced aggression as it exacerbates neuro-cognitive decline and brain bio-chemicals distortions leading to aggression behavior. 

Familial liability or susceptibility has been shown to increase the risk for psychotic disorders, however, little is known about familial liability (FL) among patients with major psychiatric disorders in Nigeria. This study aimed to determine the rate of FL and factors influencing the age of onset among patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. This was a cross-sectional survey of patients with either diagnosis of bipolar disorder or schizophrenia based on ICD-10 criteria. Data were collected through a pretested socio-demographic questionnaire, incorporating age, duration of illness, the onset of illness, and family history (FH) of mental illness. Data were presented as tables, charts and bivariate analysis was performed to determine the relationship between variables. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05.  Of the 235 participants, 66 (28.1%) had a FH of mental illness. The age of onset ranges from 12-70years with a mean of 30.1years (SD=11.1years) and majority 85 (36.2%), were within the age group 30-39 years and had developed the illness before the age of 30years (54.5%). The males were twice more likely to developed mental illness before the age of 30 compared with their female counterparts [OR=2.42, (CI = 1.40-4.25), (p=0.013)], likewise, the singles compared with the ever-married  [OR=4.24, (CI=2.45-7.34), (p=0.000)]. Although nearly a third of the participants had a FL to mental illness, there was no association between age of onset and FH of mental illness. However, the males and the singles were more likely to have developed mental illness at an earlier age compared with their counterparts. 

The aim of the study was to investigate and compare anxiety sensitivity measurements and panic-agoraphobic spectrum symptoms in patients diagnosed with panic disorder and in their first degree relatives. Eighty patients who were on followup or recently diagnosed as panic disorder in a university faculty of medicine psychiatry department and their first degree relatives (80 siblings) were included after clinical evaluation. The patients were assessed with socio-demographic information form, Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-1), Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Panic-Agoraphobic Scale (PAS) and Lifetime Panic-Agoraphobic Spectrum Self Report (PAS-SR lifetime); and their siblings were assessed with socio-demographic information form, SCID-1, ASI, STAI, BDI, and PAS-SR lifetime. According to the results of the study, it was determined that the ASI scores of the patients were statistically significantly higher than the scores of their siblings (p<0.01). In addition, patients scored significantly higher on the PAS-SR lifetime scale than siblings (p<0.01). Inclusion of BDI scores in covariant analysis has made no change in the difference among study groups in level of anxiety sensitivity and degree of panic agoraphobic spectrum. As a conclusion, in this study, it was found that anxiety sensitivity and spectrum symptoms, which are two variables investigated as endophenotypic features in the first degree relatives in the panic disorder, differ from the patient group in terms of severity and frequency.

The identification of facial expressions’ is essential part of the communication and differ across cultures. In this study, the aim is to develop an emotion identification test with facial expressions of Turkish people and test the reliability and validity. As stimuli, 7 photos of fundamental face expressions’ were taken in 64 Turkish citizens between 18-60 ages. 72 participants with same age range completed the Empathy Scale, Facial Emotion Identification Test and the test that prepared for the current study called “Emotion Identification Test from Facial Expressions of Healthy Individuals in Turkish Society” to test the validity and reliability and repeated 15 days later. The Wilcoxon, Mann Whitney U, Pearson Correlation tests are used to determine the differences between scales. The findings are evaluated in the range of 95% reliability level and %5 (p<0,05) relevance level. The correlation level of the Emotion Identification Test from Facial Expressions of Healthy Individuals in Turkish Society test-retest was found as r=0.58. According to results, women more accurately recognize the disgust face expressions in the newly developed test than men do. Moreover, the scared, shocked and happy facial expressions and total scores were different between the Facial Emotion Identification Test and new test. Current study is the first study about developing a facial expression test in Turkish population that validates psychometric properties comparing with other social cognitive scales. We believe that this test will a good alternative in research fields of neurology and psychiatry conducted with Turkish populations.

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between attachment styles of parents and attachment anxiety and separation anxiety of preschool children and to evaluate the relationship between these variables and demographic variables. The population of the study was determined as children between 4-6 years of age and their mothers, and the sample consists of 30 children and their mothers between 4-6 years of age who continue their education in the kindergarten in İstanbul. In order to collect the data of the research; “Informed Consent Form”, “Demographic Information Form”, “Adult Separation Anxiety Scale” and “ Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised” were given and “Attachment Story Completion Test’’ was administered by the researcher to measure the attachment styles of the children. SPSS 16 program was used for statistical analysis. During the analysis of the study, t-test was used to evaluate the relationship between variables, Pearson correlation was used for the variables that were normal distribution and Spearman’s correlation was used when the data were not suitable for the normal distribution. According to the results of the study, no significant relationship was found between the attachment styles of the children and the parent’s attachment style and separation anxiety. It was found that there was no significant relationship between age, gender, educational status of mothers, working status of mothers and attachment styles distribution according to caregivers in the 0-2 age group. There was no significant relationship between the total score obtained from the Adult Separation Anxiety Scale and the total score and the subscale of avoidance attachment criteria. In other words, research findings show that there is no significant relationship between separation anxiety and the avoidant attachment style of mothers. However, it was found that there was a relationship between separation anxiety of mothers obtained from Adult Separation Anxiety Scale total score and anxious attachment criteria of mothers with Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised subscales. The limited number of samples and the mothers who completed the scales were among the limitations of this study. It is recommended to increase the sample size and include both parents by applying the scales.

Working memory, a cognitive construct, which is essential to perform complex cognitive tasks, is negatively associated with trait anxiety. However the exact mechanism underlying this relationship is not clear yet. In this study we aimed at investigating the relationship between working memory and anxiety considering the role of resting state frontal theta/beta ratio, a neuromarker which has been associated with attentional control. Fifty-six university students (Mage = 21, SD = 2; 7 males) participated in the study voluntarily. Participants filled in trait anxiety and attentional control scales. Then resting state EEG was recorded. Afterwards, participants completed dual n back task to assess working memory performance. Our results showed no relationship between theta/beta ratio, trait anxiety and working memory performance. Furthermore, trait anxiety and attentional control scores were also not associated with dual-n-back performance. Results are suggestive of critical evaluation of existing literature and utilizing different cognitive tasks or EEG markers in the future. Also, in addition to trait anxiety the role of state anxiety can also be investigated within this context.

Alzheimer’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterised by a progressive memory loss. However, it is not clear whether flashbulb memories- a subgroup of autobiographical memories with an emotional component- are influenced to the same extent in Alzheimer’s Disease. In this study, we investigated flashbulb memory performances of 29 early stage Alzheimer’s Disease patients as compared to healthy young controls. In addition, we measured the verbal memory performance of patients by using Verbal Memory Processes Test. Results showed that although the patient group displayed a significant impairment in verbal memory encoding, their flashbulb memory performance was not significantly different from healthy young controls. In conclusion, our study supports the notion that flashbulb memories can have a special neural network and suggests that flashbulb memories are preserved in early stage Alzheimer’s Disease.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the sociodemographic characteristics, psychiatric diagnoses, thyroid function tests, vitamin B12, folate and ferritin levels of adolescent patients who were treated in adult psychiatry inpatient clinic between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2018. Fifty-two patients who were hospitalized and discharged in adult psychiatry inpatient unit were included in the study. The diagnoses and vitamin B12, folate and ferritin levels of the patients were evaluated retrospectively. There were 27 females (51.9%) and 25 males (48.1%) in the study (p=0.782). The mean age was 16.50±0.70 years. The most common diagnoses were conversion disorder, conduct disorder and substance use disorder. Males were diagnosed with more substance use disorder than females (p=0.011). Ferritin (p<001) and TSH (p=0.021) values were significantly different between females and males. Ferritin was significantly below the reference values in females (p=0.033). This study is important to show that ferritin deficiency is seen significantly more in girls. In addition to psychiatric treatment, iron supplementation may be useful.

This study, which aims to determine the levels of depression and somatization disorder seen in women experiencing compulsory internal migration, is a research in the general screening model and the relational screening model based on quantitative data. The study population of the study was determined as non-immigrant women aged between 18-65 (α = 50) living in the city center of Diyarbakır (α = 50) and women aged between 18-65 (α = 50) who experienced forced internal migration from Diyarbakır to Istanbul. In the study, women between the ages of 18-65 (n = 50) living in Diyarbakır and women between the ages of 18-65 (n = 50) who experienced forced internal migration from Diyarbakır to Istanbul were selected by the easy sampling method. As a data collection tool in the research; Beck Depression Inventory, Brief Symptom Inventory and Somatization Scale were used. It has been concluded that the depression levels, mental symptom levels, and somatization levels of the women who experienced compulsory internal migration were statistically significantl higher than the nonimmigrant women. The results of this research suggest that it may be important to take measures to protect mental health in women experiencing internal migration

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is not widely used in the world. Besides financial constraints like limited allocation of funds for psychiatric clinics, psychiatrists’ knowledge and attitudes regarding TMS may limit its widespread use. Therefore, this survey study aimed to examine the knowledge and attitudes of Turkish psychiatrists towards TMS. An online survey that was developed by the researchers containing 26 questions about physicians’ demographic data and their knowledge and attitudes towards TMS was sent to a closed e-mail group of psychiatrists and assistant psychiatrists. The study sample comprised 46 women and 61 men. Having knowledge about TMS statistically significantly affected participants’ approaches to accept TMS as a promising treatment, approve the spread of TMS as a treatment modality, desire to have more information about the mechanism of action of TMS (p=0.006; p=0.019 and p=0.013, respectively), whereas it didn’t statistically significantly affect their approaches to accept TMS as an effective treatment method, consider TMS as a misleading treatment for patients, use TMS only in the treatment of treatment-resistant depression patients (p=0.060, p=0.065, and p=0.136, respectively). Most of the psychiatrists who completed the survey in Turkey had a positive view of TMS and wanted to increase their knowledge. It may be appropriate to increase the number of presentations on TMS therapy at psychiatry meetings and encourage residents to make observations in clinics where TMS is administered, during psychiatric residency.