Objective: Nomophobia (No MObile PHone PhoBIA) refers to the concern or fear that individuals experience when they're without their mobile phone or they're unfit to use it. This research aimed to elucidate the relationship between nomophobia, social media addiction, and emotion regulation difficulties in university students.Method: A total of 100 volunteer medical school students, 55 female and 45 male, with an average age of 23, are included in this study. The questionnaires included sociodemographics and social media usage characteristics, The Turkish Nomophobia Scale, the social media addiction scale, and the emotion regulation difficulties scale. The data were collected in a face-to-face manner by the researchers.Results: There was a moderately positive, statistically significant relationship between the emotion regulation difficulties scale total score, the social media addiction scale total score, and the total scores of the Turkish Nomophobia Scale.Conclusion: Emotion regulation difficulties may explain nomophobia and social media addiction. Developing emotion regulation strategies may help reduce nomophobia and addictive use of social media.

Purpose: Neuropeptide-S (NPS) is a novel 20-amino acid peptide, mainly expressed in the central nervous system and endocrine tissues. NPS has been linked to anxiety and fear-related behaviors. The association of NPS with depression in a human population has not been previously examined. The aim of the current study was to explore the potential association of NPS with clinical depression and comorbid anxiety. Materials and methods: Seventy-nine patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder and seventy-eight controls were included in the study. The Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) were used to measure depression and anxiety levels, respectively. Venous blood samples were obtained to measure plasma NPS levels. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the patients and controls in terms of sex, marital status, and smoking status. Plasma NPS levels were also not significantly different between the patients and controls. In patients with major depressive disorder, HAM-A and HAM-D scores were significantly higher than those of controls. No correlation was found between plasma NPS levels and age, body mass index (BMI), median HAM-A scores, and median HAM-D scores. Conclusions: Despite a significantly high level of comorbid anxiety among the patient group, we found no relationship between plasma NPS levels and depressive symptomatology.

Among anxiety disorders, the incidence of alexithymic features is found in a wide range of 12.5-58%, and it is a personality trait that can also be seen in healthy individuals. Our study investigated the relationship between alexithymic features and coping attitudes in patients with generalized anxiety disorder. Forty patients diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and 39 healthy volunteers participated in the study. Participants were divided into groups using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale and Coping Attitudes Scale were applied to all participants. Nineteen patients with alexithymia and Generalized anxiety disorder, 21 patients with Generalized anxiety disorder without alexithymia, and 39 healthy volunteers participated in this study. Statistically significant differences were observed between the problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping subscale scores, but there was no difference in dysfunctional coping styles between the three groups. In the correlation analysis performed to determine the relationship between the total alexithymia and Coping attitudes subscale scores, there was a moderate negative correlation between the alexithymia scores and problem-focused (r=-0.442) and emotion-focused coping (r=-0.425) subscale scores. Alexithymia is often accompanied by generalized anxiety disorder and negatively affects coping attitudes.

Sensory modulation difficulties have been increasingly recognized in schizophrenia, with neurophysiological evidence indicating altered sensory processing. However, how these abnormalities relate to symptomatology and depressive features in daily life remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the associations between sensory responsiveness, symptom severity and depressive symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 74 outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Participants completed the Sensory Responsiveness Questionnaire (SRQ), and clinicians rated symptom severity using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS). The relationship between schizophrenia symptoms, sensory integration and depressive symptoms was evaluated by correlation analysis. The mean age was 41.4 ± 12.5 years, with a mean duration of illness was 13.8 ± 11.1 years. The pleasure subscale of the SRQ was positively correlated with PANSS positive symptoms (r = 0.299, p < 0.001) and general psychopathology (r = 0.342, p < 0.001). Severity of depression was significantly associated with all PANSS subscales. These findings indicate altered sensory responses in individuals with schizophrenia, particularly in relation to positive symptoms and general psychopathology. This supports the clinical relevance of incorporating sensory profiling into assessment and therapeutic planning in schizophrenia care.

Aim: The substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc), a vital part of the brain that produces dopamine, is being closely studied due to its potential role in the monoamine hypothesis, which aims to explain the causes of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Dopamine, a chemical messenger in the brain, is linked to the monoamine hypothesis, suggesting that imbalances in these chemicals may contribute to MDD. This study aimed to calculate volumetric changes in the substantia nigra (SN), using brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in individuals diagnosed with MDD. Material and Method: Sixty-six participants, comprising 33 individuals diagnosed with MDD (mean age=44.30±13.98 years) and 33 healthy individuals (mean age=46.27±14.94 years), were recruited from the university hospital psychiatry outpatient clinic. In the MDD group, there were 15 male participants (45%) and 18 female participants (55%). The healthy control group consisted of 28 males (84.8%) and 5 females (16.2%). Potential confounding factors, such as underlying chronic diseases, were ruled out by the clinician through a thorough examination of the patient's medical history, ensuring the study outcomes were not influenced. Three-dimensional brain MRI scans were conducted using a 1.5 Tesla MRI scanner. Volumes of the SN and midbrain were automatically computed using MRIStudio, an atlas-based image analysis program. Results: Statistically significant higher volumes were observed in the right SN in the MDD group compared to controls (0.146±0.045 cm³ vs. 0.122±0.035 cm³, p=0.02, p