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As cognitive neuroscience enters the era of technology application, military psychological training has evolved from traditional behavioral training to cognitive neural training based on neuroimaging, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and other technologies. Cognitive neural training includes both invasive and non-invasive types, which can be used not only as an adjunct treatment for military occupation-related neuropsychiatric disorders, but also as preventive training that targets the brain to enhance cognitive ablity, regulate emotion, and shape behavior. In this article, we focused on non-invasive cognitive neural training, mainly sorting out the advanced literature concerning non-invasive brain stimulation represented by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation, and low-intensity focused ultrasound, as well as neurofeedback mediated by electroencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy. We prospected the development trend of intelligent, personalized, multimodal, sensory and wearable neural training, and brought forward and discussed the problems that need our attention in the research and application of cognitive neural training in our army.

Negative cognitive bias toward emotional stimuli is a main cognitive factor for depression, and also is a stable trait of depression. Previous studies showed enhanced negative affective processing and insufficient cognitive control can account for pathogenesis of depression, in terms of cognition. With the development of related researches, the mechanism of different negative cognitive biases (attention bias, processing bias and memory bias) in affective processing and the sub-component functions of cognitive control (updating, inhibiting and shifting) in depression were further studied. Especially in combination with the trend analysis of "neural network hierarchy" in the current cognitive neural field, we put forward a theoretical hypothesis of "dual-path hierarchical network model" for depression. That is, depression is caused by 3-level brain network of "heat"-"intermediate regulation"-"cold", which forms a "closed-loop neural circuit" through the paths of bottom-up affective processing and top-down cognitive control, with the 3 brain networks interacting together and finally mediating to depression.

Objective To develop a depressive interpretation bias questionnaire with Chinese culture based on the similarity rating task (SRT), and to test its reliability and validity. Methods After being authorized, the ambiguous paragraphs in cognitive behavior modification errors prospective training items (CBM-I) were translated and screened in the first round, the screened paragraphs combined with the remaining of SRT and the self-written ambiguous paragraphs to form the screening questionnaire of the second round.Fourteen ambiguous paragraphs were selected as the items, and then the ambiguous situation interpretation bias questionnaire was compiled using SRT as the template.The reliability and validity analysis and item analysis were launched after 477 were tested by the questionnaire mentioned before. Results A 14-item-formed questionnaire was compiled after 2 rounds of screening, then 5 factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis, and the cumulative contribution rate was 52.67%.The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the five-factor model fitted well.Cronbach's α was 0.613, and split-half reliability was 0.617;Paired t-test was used to test the content validity, which showed significant difference between the target sentences and the foil sentences (t=-12.90, P < 0.01).The questionnaire had good criterion validity, regarding the center for epidemiologic studies depression scale (CES-D) in Chinese version as criterion, while the total T score was significantly correlated with the total score of the CES-D (r=-0.224, P < 0.01). Conclusion The interpretation bias questionnaire with ambiguous scenarios is a applicable measurement of depression interpretation bias in China.

Objective To explore the relationship between family resilience and mental health in military personnel from the perspective of the dual-factor model of mental health. Methods A total of 8 094 soldiers were selected as subjects. Family Resilience Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and Short-Form version of Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) were applied to investigate the relationship of family resilience with positive indicators of mental health, life satisfaction, negative indicators of mental health, as well as depression, anxiety, and stress. Results Ten first-order factors, 2 second-order factors and total scores of family resilience were positively correlated with life satisfaction (r=0.242~0.469, P < 0.01), and negatively correlated with DASS-21 (r=-0.333~-0.126, P < 0.01). The life satisfaction scores of subjects at different families resilience levels showed a linear downward trend, with significant differences (F=162.153~924.656, P < 0.01). The DASS-21 scores of subjects at different families resilience levels displayed a linear upward trend (F=35.783~335.658, P < 0.01). The correlation coefficients of family resilience and life satisfaction were greater than the absolute values of the DASS-21 correlation coefficients. Regression analysis showed that family belief and family strength showed significant effects on life satisfaction, and could jointly predict 22% variation of positive mental health. Family strength had a significant influence on the DASS-21 scores, while family belief had no effect on DASS-21 scores, and could predict 11% variation of negative mental health. Conclusion There is a correlation between military family resilience and military mental health, and family resilience is the key point to promote military mental health.

Combat stress psychological injury, with an incidence of 30% to 75%, is a kind of incapacitating psychological injury in officers and soldiers during wartime, which is similar to physical injury and moral injury. The key to its rehabilitation lies in early treatment within 72 h. Many new theories and technologies have been reported over the years. In order to provide new ideas and methods and promote the rescue capabilities of Chinese PLA on the battlefield, we have sorted out the literature in 3 aspects. ①From the perspective of the development, the cognition of this concept mainly experienced 4 stages: personality and emotional problems, neurological and mental diseases, combat stress reactions and combat psychological injury. ②The main factors affecting the incidence of combat psychological injury are the combat intensity, the duration of the war, the stage of the battle, the number of times of participating in the battle, the morale of the troops and their own psychological resources. ③ There are 3 "Golden Times" for early treatment, namely "the 10-minute first aid period", "the half-hour symptom control period", and "the 72-hour combat effectiveness reconstruction period". Further research and practice should be carried out to explore the mechanism of combat stress psychological injury, key technologies for prevention, control and treatment, and service support and training mode of psychological health in wartime.

Objective To explore the characteristics of electroencephalogram (EEG) microstates of individuals with different levels of depressive symptoms in resting state so as to provide objective biomarkers in screening and identification of depressive symptoms in the population. Methods A total of 129 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 40 years were recruited from July to October 2020 in Chongqing. According to the results of Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), they were divided into following 3 groups: non-depressive group (n=107), mild depressive group (n=18) and moderate to severe depressive group (n=4). EEG signals of subjects in 8-min resting state were collected, and then were preprocessed and analyzed by MATLAB, EEGLAB and other tools to obtain 4 types (A, B, C and D) of microstate and their parameters, including global explanation variance (GEV), duration, occurrence frequency, coverage rate and conversion rate. SPSS24.0 was used for statistical analysis of each parameter. Results ① Among the subjects, 17.05% showed depressive symptoms. The average GEV of resting EEG microstates in healthy volunteers was 76.49%. ②The mean duration of microstate A in the mild depressive group was lower than that in the non-depressive and moderate to severe depressive group (P < 0.001). ③EEG microstate A had higher occurrence frequency than the other 3 types of microstates in the non-depressive and moderatet to severe depressive group (P < 0.001). ④The mild depressive group presented lower coverage rate of microstate A than the other 2 groups (P < 0.001). ⑤There were differences in conversion rates among different types of microstates (P < 0.05). Conclusion The duration of microstate A may be an early warning signal of the occurrence and development of depressive symptoms, which characterizes the preclinical state of depression. The declined conversion rate of microstates A and C may indicate the occurrence of depressive symptoms, and the alteration in the conversion rate of microstates C and D may be a key feature of the development and progression of depressive symptoms.

War psychic impairment refers to the psychological reactions or mental dysfunction (psychological depletion) in military personnel caused by physical and psychological stresses from the battlefield environment, which has physiological, psychological, cultural, social and moral impacts on the personnel. Previous studies of war-related injuries focused on physical rather than psychological impairment of the individuals and addressed these issues mainly in terms of military science, psychiatry and stress medicine, while studies based on a psychological perspective remain scarce. This present study examines the psychological cost of wars, the manifestations, the factors affecting the psychological impairments, the psychological processes that mediate the impairment, and the prevention of such impairment from the perspective of psychology. The manifestations of war-related psychological impairment include fear, exhaustion, feeling of guilt, pain and hatred. The psychological factors contributing to the impairment include psychological distance, obedience to authority, organizational behavior as well as physical and mental qualities of the individuals. Two psychological processes mediate the impairment, namely the excessive psychological stress response because of the stimulation in the battlefield environment and the rationalization and acceptance processes. War psychic impairment can be reduced through such strategies as desensitization, establishing conditioned reflexes, denial and rationalization. Researches should be conducted to establish the theoretical system and address the issues including psychological selection, military training and the prevention and control measures against war psychic impairment.

Objective To study the effect of different emotional regulation strategies on anxiety and the factors contributing to anxiety in military personnel serving in high-altitude regions. Methods Using State-Trait Anxiety Inquiry (STAI) and Armymen Emotional Regulation Types Questionnaire (AERTQ), we conducted 2 groups assessments of the military personnel serving in high-altitude regions along the Qinghai-Tibet Supply Line in August, 2016 (600 subjects) and in August, 2017 (584 subjects) and collected the demographic and environmental data from the participants. The temporal variations of the effects of emotional regulation strategies and the 4 factors (strengthened attention, emotional appeal, self-consolation and behavioral inhibition) on anxiety were analyzed using a cross-lagged regression model, which included the demographic data and environmental factors to examine their effects on the changes of anxiety emotion. The acceptable criteria for model fit index were TLI>0.9, CFI>0.9, and RMSEA < 0.08. Results ① After inclusion of the covariates, the model fit indices of emotional regulation and its 4 factors with state anxiety and trait anxiety were acceptable (CFI=0.942, 0.959, 0.961, 0.929, 0.956; TLI=0.933, 0.952, 0.955, 0.918, 0.949; RMSEA=0.059, 0.051, 0.050, 0.064, 0.055). ②Emotional regulation strategies had significant negative predictive effect on state and trait anxiety (P < 0.05) in the next year, but not vice versa (P>0.05). ③Strengthened attention had a significant positive predictive effect on state and trait anxiety (P < 0.01), while emotional appeal and self-consolation had significant negative predictive effects (P < 0.01); behavioral inhibition had no effect on state and trait anxiety (P>0.05). State and trait anxiety had no predictive effects on the 4 dimensions of emotional regulation (P>0.05). ④State anxiety showed a significant negative growth with time (P < 0.01), and trait anxiety and emotional regulation strategies showed no obvious changes with time (P>0.05). ⑤Educational level had negative effects on state anxiety in models that included emotional regulation, strengthened attention, emotional appeal, self-consolation and behavioral inhibition (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Environmental adaptation had negative effects on state anxiety (P < 0.01) and trait anxiety (P < 0.01, P < 0.05) in the 5 models. Conclusion Educational level and environmental adaptation are correlated with anxiety in military personnel serving in high-altitude regions. Emotional regulation strategies can significantly affect the growth of anxiety, and during psychological interventions, emotional appeal and self-consolation, but not strengthened attention and behavioral inhibition, should be encouraged for emotional regulation.

Objective To investigate the feasibility and validity of working memory training system based on virtual reality (VR) technology for army soldiers. Methods MethodsA VR-based working memory training system was established by combining driving task with working memory tasks (including n-back, more-odd shifting and Stroop task). A total of 30 army soldiers selected by cluster random sampling were asked to experience the VR scene and fill in a Likert 7 grade VR scene rating scale including 9 subscales. Then another 60 army soldiers selected by cluster random sampling were randomly divided into VR training group and control group. The soldiers from the former group were given working memory VR training, and those from the latter received no training. All the subjects completed operation-word span task, active memory task, local-global task and GO/NOGO task before and after training. Descriptive statistical analysis, independent sample t-test, paired sample t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were adopted to statistically analyze the results. Results ① The average values of the 9 subscales in the VR scene rating scale were greater than the median value 4 (x=4.180~6.183); ② After the training, the performance of operation-word span task (P < 0.01) and correct rate of active memory task (P < 0.05) were increased, and the false reports of GO/NOGO task (P < 0.05) were decreased in the VR training group, and no statistical difference was seen between the performance of local-global task before and after training (P=0.091). ③There were no significant differences in above indicators in the control group before and after training (P>0.05). Conclusion The VR-based working memory training system is feasible and effective for army soldiers.

Objective To investigate the development of negative cognitive processing bias (NCPB) and its relationship with mental health status in recruits during military training. Methods We assessed 1 776 military recruits using Negative Cognitive Processing Bias Questionnaire (NCPBQ) and Military Mental Health Scale in the early phase (mid-October), middle phase (mid-November) and late phase (mid-December) of military training. Repeated measures analysis of variance, correlation analysis and cross-lagged regression analyses were used for statistical analysis of the data. Results During military training, the recruits exhibited significantly decreased overall level of negative cognitive processing bias (P < 0.01) and significantly improved mental health (P < 0.01) over time. The male recruits had significantly higher scores for mental health than the female recruits in the middle and late phases of military training, but their scores for negative cognitive processing bias did not differ significantly. Having siblings or not or the educational level did not significantly affect the scores of mental health or negative cognitive processing bias among the recruits. Negative cognitive processing bias was negatively correlated with mental health scores in the recruits (r=-0.30~-0.47, P < 0.01). Mental health status negatively predicted negative cognitive processing bias in the early phase of military training (β=-0.19, P < 0.01), and mental health and negative cognitive processing bias mutually predicted each other in the late phase of the training (β=-0.16, P < 0.01; β=-0.04, P < 0.05). Conclusion The level of negative cognitive processing bias tends to decrease in the recruits during military training and is capable of predicting the level of mental health in the late phase of the training; the recruits show progressive improvement of mental health status, which predicts the level of negative cognitive processing bias throughout the training.

We propose that psycho-virus, as a paragraph of text, a sentence, an expression, and a behavior, etc., can rapidly self-replicate after being embedded in the human brain, and then destroy the normal cognition of the human brain and manipulate a person's behavior, will and belief, with the characteristics of infectivity, concealment, parasitism to the brain and so on. The world military powers, represented by the United States, have carried out extensive researches on psycho-viruses, including cognitive transformation, intention screening, human body enhancement and micro-sensor recognition of brain activities. In-depth research has been conducted on the manipulation, action path, detection and protection techniques of psycho-virus, which is expected to be successful in the period of 2020 to 2040. Our army does little research about the attack and defense of psycho-virus and its related weapons. There are some problems in the study of psycho-virus, including weak theoretical research, difficulty in detection and manipulation, and unclear damage mechanism and protective measures for psycho-virus. Future researches on psycho-virus should be carried out in 4 aspects: ① basic principle and characteristics; ② its manipulation; ③ key detection techniques; ④ key techniques of protection against its damage.

Soldiers in the combat field may demonstrate such non-adaptive reactions as panic disorder, narrow visual field and hearing disturbance, which potentially cause non-combat attrition and compromise the high-level cognitive functions (reasoning, judgment and decision-making). These non-adaptive reactions, known collectively as combat stress reactions (CSR), can be categorized into different subtypes based on the severity and types of the symptoms. The protective factors against CSR include social support, positive copping style, self-efficacy, strong team leadership and group cohesion, which all help to reduce the impact of stress events. The threat of death, harsh environment and poor health condition are the risk factors that contribute to the occurrence of CSR. Studies of CSR in a neurological perspective revealed that in the event of CSR, catecholamine release might promote the levels of alertness and excitability of an individual to enhance the combat efficacy; excessive alertness in this scenario, however, may cause overestimation of the risk information. Meanwhile, the interaction between the activated amygdala and the prefrontal cortex interferes with the execution control functions, leading to possible irrational behaviors. Long-term stress may even change the brain structure and potentially cause post-trauma stress disorder (PTSD). Based on these observations, military psychologists proposed several intervention principles for CSR, including PIE, IMPRESS and BICEPS. These principles point to the importance of simple and quick handling of CSR with necessary physical, emotional and social support to help the soldiers regain combat abilities soon. The specific measures of CSR control include battle mind debriefing, trauma risk management, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, and ego-state therapy. Future studies of CSR will focus on developing quick evaluation tools and standards and accurate prediction of CSR occurrence; reinforcement of combat-oriented simulation training and establishment of systemic strategies of countermeasures against CSR; reinforcement of CSR management in combat field and establishment of CSR control unit in the field hospitals; and exploration of the mechanisms of CSR occurrence and the pathways that mediate its effects.

Aims: This study aimed to illuminate the neuropathological landscape of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by a multiscale macro–micro‐molecular perspective from in vivo neuroimaging data. Methods: The "ADHD‐200 initiative" repository provided multi‐site high‐quality resting‐state functional connectivity (rsfc‐) neuroimaging for ADHD children and matched typically developing (TD) cohort. Diffusion mapping embedding model to derive the functional connectome gradient detecting biologically plausible neural pattern was built, and the multivariate partial least square method to uncover the enrichment of neurotransmitomic, cellular and chromosomal gradient‐transcriptional signatures of AHBA enrichment and meta‐analytic decoding. Results: Compared to TD, ADHD children presented connectopic cortical gradient perturbations in almost all the cognition‐involved brain macroscale networks (all pBH <0.001), but not in the brain global topology. As an intermediate phenotypic variant, such gradient perturbation was spatially enriched into distributions of GABAA/BZ and 5‐HT2A receptors (all pBH <0.01) and co‐varied with genetic transcriptional expressions (e.g. DYDC2, ATOH7, all pBH <0.01), associated with phenotypic variants in episodic memory and emotional regulations. Enrichment models demonstrated such gradient‐transcriptional variants indicated the risk of both cell‐specific and chromosome‐ dysfunctions, especially in enriched expression of oligodendrocyte precursors and endothelial cells (all pperm <0.05) as well enrichment into chromosome 18, 19 and X (pperm <0.05). Conclusions: Our findings bridged brain macroscale neuropathological patterns to microscale/cellular biological architectures for ADHD children, demonstrating the neurobiologically pathological mechanism of ADHD into the genetic and molecular variants in GABA and 5‐HT systems as well brain‐derived enrichment of specific cellular/chromosomal expressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Returning to social life after the lifting of COVID-19 lockdown may increase risk of social anxiety, which is highly co-morbid with depression. However, few studies have reported the association between them. Aims: To explore the complex relationship between social anxiety and depression symptoms in left-behind children after the lifting of the COVID-19 lockdown. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted 6 months after the lockdown removal. A total of 3,107 left-behind children completed the survey with a mean age of 13.33 and a response rate of 87.77%. Depression and social anxiety severity were assessed by the DSM-5 Patient Health Questionnaire for Adolescents and the DSM-5 Social Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire, respectively. The symptom-level association between the two disorders was examined using network analysis. Results: After the lifting of COVID-19 lockdown, the prevalence of depression and social anxiety in left-behind children was 19.57% and 12.36%, respectively, with a co-morbidity rate of 8.98%. Network analysis showed that "Social tension" and "Social avoidance" had the greatest expected influence; "Humiliation" and "Motor" were bridge symptom nodes in the network. The directed acyclic graph indicated that "Social fright" was at the upstream of all symptoms. Conclusion: Attention should be paid to social anxiety symptoms in left-behind children after the lifting of COVID-19 lockdown. Prevention and intervention measures should be taken promptly to reduce the comorbidity of social anxiety and depression symptoms in the left-behind children after the lifting of lockdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]