And Synthia Guimond

Dr. And Synthia Guimond


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

12Years (2015-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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27 October 2022 in Nature Neuroscience
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
JHJustine Y. Hansen
Justine Y. Hansen
GSGolia Shafiei
Golia Shafiei
RMRoss D. Markello
Ross D. Markello
KSKelly Smart
Kelly Smart
SCSylvia M. L. Cox
Sylvia M. L. Cox
BMBratislav Misic
Bratislav Misic
Neurotransmitter receptors support the propagation of signals in the human brain. How receptor systems are situated within macro-scale neuroanatomy and how they shape emergent function remain poorly understood, and there exists no comprehensive atlas of receptors. Here we collate positron emission tomography data from more than 1,200 healthy individuals to construct a whole-brain three-dimensional normative atlas of 19 receptors and transporters across nine different neurotransmitter systems. We found that receptor profiles align with structural connectivity and mediate function, including neurophysiological oscillatory dynamics and resting-state hemodynamic functional connectivity. Using the Neurosynth cognitive atlas, we uncovered a topographic gradient of overlapping receptor distributions that separates extrinsic and intrinsic psychological processes. Finally, we found both expected and novel associations between receptor distributions and cortical abnormality patterns across 13 disorders. We replicated all findings in an independently collected autoradiography dataset. This work demonstrates how chemoarchitecture shapes brain structure and function, providing a new direction for studying multi-scale brain organization.

27 July 2023 in Molecular Psychiatry
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Journal Article
Closed access
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MSMarco Solm
Marco Solm
GSGeorgios Seitidis
Georgios Seitidis
DMDimitris Mavridis
Dimitris Mavridis
CCChristoph U. Correll
Christoph U. Correll
Elena DragiotiElena Dragioti
Elena Dragioti
SCSamuele Cortese
Samuele Cortese

14 April 2022 in JMIR Mental Health
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
HSHolly Shannon
Holly Shannon
KBKatie Bush
Katie Bush
PVPaul Villeneuve
Paul Villeneuve
KHKim Hellemans
Kim Hellemans
AGAnd Synthia Guimond
And Synthia Guimond
Background: Technology is ever evolving, with more and more diverse activities becoming possible on screen-based devices. However, participating in a heavy screen-based lifestyle may come at a cost. Our hypothesis was that problematic social media use increased the prevalence of mental health outcomes. Objective: This study seeks to systematically examine problematic social media use in youth and its association with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Methods: A systematic search was conducted to identify studies in adolescents and young adults, using the databases Engineering Village, Psycinfo, Pubmed, and Web of Science. A total of 18 studies were identified, with a total of 9269 participants in our review and included in the meta-analysis. Results: Our metaregression shows moderate but statistically significant correlations between problematic social media use and depression (r=0.273, P<.001), anxiety (r=0.348, P<.001), and stress (r=0.313, P<.001). We did not find evidence of heterogeneity of these summary correlations by age, gender, or year of publication. Conclusions: This study provides further evidence of the association between problematic social media use and negative mental health among adolescents and young adults and supports future research to focus on the underlying mechanisms of problematic use of social media. Trial Registration: PROSPERO CRD42021222309; https://tinyurl.com/2p9y4bjx

1 April 2021 in Journal of Affective Disorders
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
ATAlexandra Thérond
Alexandra Thérond
PPPatrizia Pezzoli
Patrizia Pezzoli
MAMaria Abbas
Maria Abbas
AHAndrea Howard
Andrea Howard
CBChristopher R. Bowie
Christopher R. Bowie
AGAnd Synthia Guimond
And Synthia Guimond

18 February 2022 in JMIR Mental Health
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
ASAlexandra H Schroeder
Alexandra H Schroeder
BBBryce J M Bogie
Bryce J M Bogie
TRTabassum T Rahman
Tabassum T Rahman
ATAlexandra Thérond
Alexandra Thérond
HMHannah Matheson
Hannah Matheson
AGAnd Synthia Guimond
And Synthia Guimond
Background: Functional recovery in psychosis remains a challenge despite current evidence-based treatment approaches. To address this problem, innovative interventions using virtual reality (VR) have recently been developed. VR technologies have enabled the development of realistic environments in which individuals with psychosis can receive psychosocial treatment interventions in more ecological settings than traditional clinics. These interventions may therefore increase the transfer of learned psychosocial skills to real-world environments, thereby promoting long-term functional recovery. However, the overall feasibility and efficacy of such interventions within the psychosis population remain unclear. Objective: This systematic review aims to investigate whether VR-based psychosocial interventions are feasible and enjoyable for individuals with psychosis, synthesize current evidence on the efficacy of VR-based psychosocial interventions for psychosis, and identify the limitations in the current literature to guide future research. Methods: This research followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Literature searches were conducted in PubMed and PsycINFO in May 2021. We searched for peer-reviewed English articles that used a psychosocial intervention with a VR component. Participants in the included studies were diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or another psychotic disorder. The included studies were divided into four categories as follows: cognitive remediation interventions, social skills interventions, vocational skills interventions, and auditory verbal hallucinations and paranoia interventions. The risk of bias assessment was performed for each study. Results: A total of 18 studies were included in this systematic review. Of these 18 studies, 4 (22%) studies used a cognitive remediation intervention, 4 (22%) studies used a social skills intervention, 3 (17%) studies used a vocational skills intervention, and 7 (39%) studies implemented an intervention aimed at improving auditory verbal hallucinations or paranoia. A total of 745 individuals with psychosis were included in the study. All the studies that evaluated feasibility showed that VR-based psychosocial interventions were feasible and enjoyable for individuals with psychosis. The preliminary evidence on efficacy included in this review suggests that VR-based psychosocial interventions can improve cognitive, social, and vocational skills in individuals with psychosis. VR-based interventions may also improve the symptoms of auditory verbal hallucinations and paranoia. The skills that participants learned through these interventions were durable, transferred into real-world environments, and led to improved functional outcomes, such as autonomy, managing housework, and work performance. Conclusions: VR-based interventions may represent a novel and efficacious approach for improving psychosocial functioning in psychosis. Therefore, VR-based psychosocial interventions represent a promising adjunctive therapy for the treatment of psychosis, which may be used to improve psychosocial skills, community functioning, and quality of life.

1 April 2024 in Psychology Research and Behavior Management
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
HSHolly Shannon
Holly Shannon
KBKatie Bush
Katie Bush
CSCecelia Shvetz
Cecelia Shvetz
VPVincent Paquin
Vincent Paquin
JMJuliette Morency
Juliette Morency
AGAnd Synthia Guimond
And Synthia Guimond
Purpose: Social media has become increasingly part of our everyday lives and is influential in shaping the habits, sociability, and mental health of individuals, particularly among students. This study aimed to examine the relationship between changes over time in problematic social media use and mental health outcomes in students. We also investigated whether resilience and loneliness moderated the relationship between social media use and mental health. Patients and Methods: A total of 103 participants completed a baseline virtual study visit, and 78 participants completed a follow-up visit, 4-weeks later. Participants completed a comprehensive set of questionnaires measuring symptoms of depression and anxiety, perceived stress, loneliness, and resilience. Results: Our results showed that problematic social media use at baseline was significantly negatively correlated with resilience and positively correlated with all other mental health outcomes. Furthermore, increases in problematic social media use were significantly associated with increased depressive symptoms and loneliness between visits. Resilience significantly moderated the relationship between increased problematic social media use and heightened perceived stress. Poor mental health at baseline did not predict increased problematic social media use over time. Contrarily to problematic use, frequency of social media use was not significantly correlated with any mental health measures at baseline. Conclusion: This study offers a longitudinal perspective, providing valuable insights into the potential protective role of resilience against the detrimental mental health effects seen with increases in problematic social media use.