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Stress and rapid changes in mood are common conditions causing an increasing burden on individuals and their families. They are assumed to be the result of a complex constellation of vulnerability and risk factors. These include familial genetic and environmental factors, individual neurobiological aspects (e.g., brain circuitry/networks, stress reactivity, inflammation, metabolic and hormonal factors, cognitive-emotional dysregulation, and social-behavioral factors (e.g. physical activity ).
Hormones such as ghrelin and leptin regulate appetite and the metabolic state and, as a result, mood. They also modulate the brain’s reward system and our cognitive control. Moreover, there are known associations between these hormones and/or the resulting metabolic states and inflammatory markers which are also severely impaired at both ends of the weight spectrum and in conditions such as the metabolic syndrome . At the same time, the risk for affective dysregulation and/or mood changes is increased in individuals with these conditions. In depression research, there is evidence suggesting the existence of an immuno-metabolic subtype of depression, characterized by metabolic dysregulation similar to that seen in metabolic syndrome or (pre-)diabetes.
Since metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes predominantly affect older individuals, German federal states with aging populations, such as Saxony, face significant challenges regarding healthcare systems and people's quality of life.
As part of the International Research Training Group “Risks and Pathomechanisms of Affective Disorders” (IRTG 2773), our research focuses on the relationship between metabolic and inflammatory markers, and lifestyle in people affected by changes in mood. In our current SELS project, we study this relationship in individuals with metabolic alterations (e.g., prediabetes or diabetes) using questionnaires, an experimental psychology paradigm, and blood samples. Additionally, in the SELS project, we implement a smartphone-based lifestyle intervention aimed at increasing daily physical activity, as the metabolic and affective alterations described above can partly be compensated through physical activity—although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
Before, during, and after the lifestyle intervention, wearable activity sensors record physiological data throughout daily life, providing insights into behaviors such as sitting, physical activity, or lying down. Simultaneously, regular measurements of sleep and mood are conducted over an extended period via smartphones. This research method, known as Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), has the advantage of closely reflecting daily life happenings and capturing fluctuations and changes.
By combining these versatile research methods, we aim to examine the extent to which the relationship between biological parameters and markers of changing moods is influenced by a change in metabolic and inflammatory markers induced by a lifestyle intervention.
Contact persons:
Collaborators:
Professor Nikolaos Perakakis, MD., Head of Department for Metabolic Vascular Medicine Head of University Study Center for Metabolic Diseases, University Hospital Dresden
Prof. Dr. Stefan R. Bornstein Director of the Medical Clinic and Polyclinic III and the Center for Internal Medicine, University Hospital Dresden
Prof. Dr. med. Peter E.H. Schwarz, Medical Clinic & Polyclinic III, University Hospital Dresden
Prof. Dr. Carmine M. Pariante, Professor of Biological Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London
Dr. Alessandra Borsini, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London
Prof. Dr. med. Dr. rer. nat. Michael Bauer, Clinic and Polyclinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University Hospital Dresden.
Prof. Dr. med. Andrea Pfennig, Clinic and Polyclinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Dresden
Jun.-Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Julia Martini, Junior Professor for Psychiatric Diagnostics and Intervention, Clinic and Polyclinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Dresden
PD Dr. rer. nat. David Poitz, Head of Molecular Diagnostics, Allergy & Immunodiagnostics, Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
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