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Neuroelectrophysiological properties have been used in human heroin addiction studies. These studies vary in their approach, experimental conditions, paradigms, and outcomes. However, it is essential to integrate previous findings and experimental methods for a better demonstration of current issues and challenges in designing such studies. This Review examines methodologies and experimental conditions of neuroelectrophysiological research among heroin addicts during withdrawal, abstinence, and methadone maintenance treatment and presents the findings. The results show decrements in attentional processing and dysfunctions in brain response inhibition as well as brain activity abnormalities induced by chronic heroin abuse. Chronic heroin addiction causes increased β and α2 power activity, latency of P300 and P600, and diminished P300 and P600 amplitude. Findings confirm that electroencephalography (EEG) band power and coherence are associated with craving indices and heroin abuse history. First symptoms of withdrawal can be seen in high-frequency EEG bands, and the severity of these symptoms is associated with brain functional connectivity. EEG spectral changes and event-related potential (ERP) properties have been shown to be associated with abstinence length and tend to normalize within 3-6 months of abstinence. From the conflicting criteria and confounding effects in neuroelectrophysiological studies, the authors suggest a comprehensive longitudinal study with a multimethod approach for monitoring EEG and ERP attributes of heroin addicts from early stages of withdrawal until long-term abstinence to control the confounding effects, such as nicotine abuse and other comorbid and premorbid conditions.

The psychological distress reported among frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) is concerning. Little is known about the mental health of non-frontline, psychiatric HCWs, who play a central role in handling the mental health crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of anxiety and depression among psychiatric HCWs and evaluate its association with socio-demographic, socio-economic, work-related factors and coping strategies. The authors proposed a cross-sectional study design using the Hospital Anxiety and Depressive Scale (HADS) and Brief-COPE scale. This study found that the prevalence of anxiety and depression were 22.0% and 16.8%, respectively. A multivariate analysis revealed that married psychiatric HCWs had a lower level of anxiety with OR = 0.31 (95% CI: 0.11–0.83). Psychiatric HCWs who were experiencing financial hardships, were unvaccinated and those who had a shorter duration of service in the psychiatric department had a higher level of depressive symptoms with OR = 0.31 (CI: 1.19–11.27), 3.21 (CI: 0.97–10.52), and 1.01 (CI: 1.00–1.02), respectively. For every increase of one unit of avoidant coping score among respondents, the odds of having anxiety and depression increased by 1.25 times (CI: 1.15–1.37) and 1.20 times (CI: 1.09–1.32), respectively, whereas for every increase of one unit of religious coping score among respondents, the odds of having anxiety reduced by 1.42 times (CI: 1.10–1.84). The authors highlight that psychosocial measures addressing the relatively high levels of anxiety and depression among psychiatric HCWs should be a key priority to ensure the sustainment of mental health services in the face of this prolonged pandemic.

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