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To clarify the relationships of personality and lifestyle with mobile phone dependence, defined as an intermittent craving to use a mobile phone or excessive mobile phone use, we administered a self-report questionnaire to 132 female college students attending a nursing school in Osaka, Japan. Results of multiple regression analysis indicated that scores for extroversion and neuroticism were positively related to the score of the Mobile Phone Dependence Questionnaire (MPDQ; Toda, Monden, Kubo, & Morimoto, 2004), while the score for healthy practices was negatively related to that of the MPDQ. These findings suggest that mobile phone dependence in female college students is associated with elevated traits of extroversion and neuroticism, as well as an unhealthy lifestyle.

Several researches indicate that autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia. Recently, salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) has been employed as a useful marker for ANS function. We investigated the extent of ANS dysfunction by measuring sAA and heart rate variability (HRV) of 25 patients with schizophrenia compared with controls. Schizophrenia group demonstrated a significant increase in sAA and markedly lower parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity in the HRV. However, there were no significant differences between two groups in sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity. We concluded that PNS might be suppressed and the SNS shows relatively high activity in schizophrenia.

BackgroundThe pathophysiology of schizophrenia (SCZ) remains unclear, and its treatment is far from ideal. We have previously reported that yokukansan (YKS), which is a traditional Japanese medicine, is effective as an adjunctive therapy for SCZ. However, the mechanisms underlying the action of YKS have not yet been completely elucidated. A recent meta-analysis study has shown that adjuvant anti-inflammatory drugs are effective for SCZ treatment, and it has been proposed that some of the cognitive deficits associated with inflammation may in part be related to inflammation-induced reductions in adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Although certain ingredients of YKS have potent anti-inflammatory activity, no study has determined if YKS has anti-inflammatory properties.MethodsUsing the Gunn rat, which has been reported as a possible animal model of SCZ, we investigated whether YKS affects cognitive dysfunction in an object-location test and the suppression of microglial activation and neurogenesis in the hippocampus.ResultsWe found that YKS ameliorated spatial working memory in the Gunn rats. Furthermore, YKS inhibited microglial activation and promoted neurogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of these rats. These results suggest that the ameliorative effects of YKS on cognitive deficits may be mediated in part by the suppression of the inflammatory activation of microglia.ConclusionsThese findings shed light on the possible mechanism underlying the efficacy of YKS in treating SCZ.

Using a written questionnaire we surveyed a sample population of 155 female students, and investigated the associations between mobile phone dependence and perceived parental rearing attitudes. Participants completed the Mobile Phone Dependence Questionnaire (MPDQ; Toda, Monden, Kubo, & Morimoto, 2004) and the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI; Parker, Tupling, & Brown, 1979). In relation to maternal rearing attitudes, analysis of responses revealed a statistically significant difference in MPDQ scores between respondents who fell in the categories for high care/high protection and low care/low protection. In relation to paternal rearing attitudes, no such difference was apparent. These findings suggest that the childhood relationship with the mother may be associated with mobile phone dependence. Furthermore, loneliness may contribute to this association.