Drozdstoj Stoyanov

Medical University Plovdiv · Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology

There have been studies previously the neurobiological underpinnings of personality traits in various paradigms such as psychobiological theory and Eysenck’s model as well as five-factor model. However, there are limited results in terms of co-clustering of the functional connectivity as measured by functional MRI, and personality profiles. In the...

Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is defined by elevated IgG/IgA/IgM responses targeting Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA) and deoxyuridine-triphosphatases (dUTPases) of Human herpsesvirus-6 (HHV-6) and EBV. These responses suggest that the viruses are being replicated and reactivated. An increased prevalence of chronic...

Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is defined by elevated IgG/IgA/IgM responses targeting Epstein-Barr Virus nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA) and deoxyuridine-triphosphatases (dUTPases) of Human herpsesvirus-6 (HHV-6) and EBV. These responses suggest that the viruses are being replicated and reactivated. An increased prevalence of chronic fatigu...

This study investigates the functional brain network in major depressive disorder using network theory and a consensus network approach. At the macroscopic level, we found significant differences in connectivity measures such as node strength and clustering coefficient, with healthy controls exhibiting higher values. This is consistent with disrupt...

Objective: Based on earlier research, we hypothesized that patient response to diagnostically relevant items (paranoid (DP) and depressive (DS)) from clinical self‐assessment scale (PD‐S) could be cross‐validated when performed simultaneously with task‐based fMRI, resulting in specific and common neural circuit activations in response to the PDS it...

The pathophysiology of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) is largely unknown, although some papers found signs of immune activation. To assess the cytokine network in aMCI after excluding patients with major depression (MDD) and to examine the immune profiles of quantitative aMCI (qMCI) and distress symptoms of old age (DSOA) scores. A case-...

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) often coexist with metabolic syndrome. Both are linked to increased atherogenicity and a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases. Objectives: This meta-analysis seeks to evaluate the relationship between atherogenic indices and mood disorders (MDD/BD), while identifying the most e...

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) often coexist with metabolic syndrome. Both are linked to increased atherogenicity and a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases. Objectives: This meta-analysis seeks to evaluate the relationship between atherogenic indices and mood disorders (MDD/BD), while identifying the most...

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is one of the most common eating disorders with multiple psychiatric comorbidities. This review aims to bring together the recent data on the most frequently coexisting with AN psychiatric nosologies including: body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), borderline personality disorder, non-suicidal self-injury, anxiety disorder, obsessiv...

Introduction The aim of this systematic review is to assess the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of bipolar disorder (BD) patients that characterize differences in terms of structural, functional, and effective connectivity between the patients with BD, patients with other psychiatric disorders and healthy controls as possible b...

Background Using machine learning methods based on neurocognitive deficits and neuroimmune biomarkers, two distinct classes were discovered within schizophrenia patient samples. Increased frequency of psychomotor retardation, formal thought disorders, mannerisms, psychosis, hostility, excitation, and negative symptoms defined the first subgroup, ma...

Objective biomarkers have been a critical challenge for the field of psychiatry, where diagnostic, prognostic, and theranostic assessments are still based on subjective narratives. Psychopathology operates with idiographic knowledge and subjective evaluations incorporated into clinical assessment inventories, but is considered to be a medical disci...

In this study, we aimed to investigate the associations between the recurrence of illness (ROI) and biomarkers related to an activated immune network, immune-linked neurotoxicity (INT), and a combined INT and atherogenicity index (METAMMUNE). The study involved 67 healthy controls and 66 outpatient MDD (OMDD) participants. We utilized a Multiplex m...

Objectives The pathophysiology of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) is largely unknown, although some papers found signs of immune activation. To assess the cytokine network in aMCI after excluding patients with major depression (MDD) and to examine the immune profiles of quantitative aMCI (qMCI) and distress symptoms of old age (DSOA) scor...

Objective biomarkers have been a critical challenge for the field of psychiatry, where diagnostic, prognostic and theranostics assessments are still based on subjective narratives. Psychopathology operates with idiographic knowledge and subjective evaluations incorporated into clinical as-sessment inventories, but is considered to be a medical disc...

Anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress, constitute the most frequent mental disorders and occur in about 14–18% of the overall population [...]

Background: The pathophysiology of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) is largely unknown, although some papers found signs of immune activation. Aims: To assess the cytokine network in aMCI after excluding patients with major depression (MDD) and to examine the immune profiles of quantitative aMCI (qMCI) and distress symptoms of old age (DSO...

Background: The pathophysiology of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) is largely unknown, although some papers found signs of immune activation. Aims: To assess the cytokine network in aMCI after excluding patients with major depression (MDD) and to examine the immune profiles of quantitative aMCI (qMCI) and distress symptoms of old age (DSO...

Background: Using machine learning methods based on neurocognitive deficits and neuroimmune biomarkers, two distinct classes were discovered within schizophrenia patient samples. The first, major neurocognitive psychosis (MNP) was characterized by cognitive deficits in executive functions and memory, higher prevalence of psychomotor retardation, fo...

Background: The first author of this paper introduced new precision nomothetic models for a major depressive episode (MDD) which incorporate quantitative scores that measure recurrence of illness (ROI). Objective: To explore the connections between ROI and biomarkers related to an activated immune network, immune-linked neurotoxicity (INT), and a c...

Background: Using machine learning methods based on neurocognitive deficits and neuroimmune biomarkers, two distinct classes were discovered within schizophrenia patient samples. The first, major neurocognitive psychosis (MNP) was characterized by cognitive deficits in executive functions and memory, higher prevalence of psychomotor retardation, fo...

Background: The first author of this paper introduced new precision nomothetic models for a major depressive episode (MDD) which incorporate quantitative scores that measure recurrence of illness (ROI). Objective: To explore the connections between ROI and biomarkers related to an activated immune network, immune-linked neurotoxicity (INT), and a...

Background: Severe or recurring major depression is associated with increased adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), heightened atherogenicity, and immune-linked neurotoxicity (INT). Nevertheless, the interconnections among these variables in outpatient MDD (OMDD) have yet to be determined. Objectives: Determine the correlations among INT, atheroge...

Anatomical variations are a common feature of the human anatomy. Variation can explain some pathological conditions and is important to keep them in mind during surgical procedures. The relations between nerves and their adjacent arteries have been proposed to play a role in the generation of peripheral trigger migraines. Close opposition between n...

BACKGROUND Our study expand upon a large body of evidence in the field of neuropsychiatric imaging with cognitive, affective and behavioral tasks, adapted for the functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (fMRI) experimental environment. There is sufficient evidence that common networks underpin activations in task-based fMRI across different men...

Introduction In this study, we applied multivariate methods to identify brain regions that have a critical role in shaping the connectivity patterns of networks associated with major psychiatric diagnoses, including schizophrenia (SCH), major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) and healthy controls (HC). We used T1w images from 164...

We present a novel method for analyzing brain functional networks using functional magnetic resonance imaging data, which involves utilizing consensus networks. In this study, we compare our approach to a standard group-based method for patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) and a healthy control group, taking into account differen...

The first epidemiological wave of the incidence of COVID-19 in Bulgaria was registered in June 2020. After the wave peak, we conducted a study in persons diagnosed with COVID-19 (N = 52). They were assessed with the anxiety–depressive scale (ADS), including basic (BS), vegetative (VS), conversion (CS), obsessive–phobic (OPS), and depressive (DS) sy...

Introduction Despite the significant scientific progress in the study of the mechanisms underlying mental disorders, stable biomarkers facilitating their diagnosis and differential diagnosis are lacking. Therefore, we attempted to explore possible functional connectivity (FC) differences across some of the more prevalent mental disorders, namely mo...

Introduction Identifying the specific brain pattern characterizing psychiatric disorders could lead us to precise diagnostic process, better treatment plan and outcome prediction. Structural covariance is a graph-analysis method with which disruptions in large scale brain network organization can be observed. More studies, employing this method in...

The article overviews the current system of psychiatric care in Bulgaria based on statistical data for the country. We attempted to look at the reality of the psychiatric care system in Bulgaria as regards its structural parts, the relationships between them, their resource provision, as well as its financing. Attention is focused on some practices...

Background: This study aimed to explore possible differences of the whole-brain functional connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and anterior insula (AI), in a sample of depressed patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD) and healthy controls (HC). Methods: A hundred and three subjects (nMDD = 35, nBD = 25,...

We address the interpretability of the machine learning algorithm in the context of the relevant problem of discriminating between patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and healthy controls using functional networks derived from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data. We applied linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to the da...

The earliest critical context of the pandemic, preceding the first real epidemiological wave of contagion in Bulgaria, was examined using a socio-affective perspective. A retrospective and agnostic analytical approach was adopted. Our goal was to identify traits and trends that explain public health support (PHS) of Bulgarians during the first two...

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all domains of human life, including the economic and social fabric of societies. One of the central strategies for managing public health throughout the pandemic has been through persuasive messaging and collective behaviour change. To help scholars better understand the social and moral psychology behind public...

This chapter provides an outline of the conceptual rationale behind the agenda of the present book. We argue here that the task-related functional MRI should be translated into clinical reasoning by more intensive and extensive use of clinical tests as stimuli in fMRI paradigms. Further the integration of multimodal imaging data (resting state conn...

Clinical practice in all fields is working to provide an approach to patients based on their individual characteristics. A personalized approach in the field of psychiatry and neuroscience is mandatory. New technologies, new methods, and interdisciplinary methodologies are a must. Personalized psychiatry will improve the diagnosis, treatment, and p...

Objective: The aim of the presents study is to investigate the brain circuits or networks which underpin diagnostically specific tasks by means of group independent component analysis for FMRI toolbox (GIFT). We hypothesized that there will be neural network patterns of activation and deactivation, which correspond to real time performance on clin...

Earliest critical context of the pandemic, preceding the first real epidemiological wave of contagion in Bulgaria, was examined in a socio-affective perspective. A retrospective and agnostic analytical approach was adopted. Our goal was to identify traits and trends that explain public health support (PHS) of Bulgarians during the first two months...

Psychosis research in the contemporary sense of scientific inquiry may be traced as far as the formulation of the “unitary psychosis” concept, or Einheitpsychose, which is usually attributed to Wilhelm Griesinger, Ernst von Zeller, and Heinrich Neumann [...]

Background: The affective profiles model allows the comparison between diametrically different individuals, but also the comparison within individuals who differ in one affectivity dimension but that are similar in the other. This line of research indicates that individuals with different affective profiles regulate their emotions in distinct ways...

Burn-out is an occupational syndrome of exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of meaning that has grown in prevalence to 40 to 60% of physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals with the increased emphasis on financial profit over people’s well-being over the past four decades. This high prevalence is a crisis for health care because...

The aim of the presents study is to further expand the model of translational cross-validation by investigating the brain circuits or networks which underpin the same tasks by means of group independent component analysis for FMRI toolbox (GIFT). We hypothesized that there will be neural network patterns of activation and deactivation, which corres...

Schizophrenia patients show increased disabilities and lower quality of life (DisQoL). Nevertheless, there are no data on whether the activation of the interleukin (IL)-6, IL-23, T helper (Th)-17 axis, and lower magnesium and calcium levels impact DisQoL scores. This study recruited 90 patients with schizophrenia (including 40 with deficit schizoph...

Aim: This study aims to develop new approaches to characterize brain networks to potentially contribute to a better understanding of mechanisms involved in depression. Method and subjects: We recruited 90 subjects: 49 healthy controls (HC) and 41 patients with a major depressive episode (MDE). All subjects underwent clinical evaluation and funct...

Translational validity (or trans-disciplinary validity) is defined as one possible approach to achieving incremental validity by combining simultaneous clinical state-dependent measures and functional MRI data acquisition. It is designed under the assumption that the simultaneous administration of the two methods may produce a dataset with enhanced...

BACKGROUND: Personality is the major predictor of people’s subjective well-being (i.e., positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction). Recent research in countries with high-income and strong self-transcendent values shows that well-being depends on multidimensional configurations of temperament and character traits (i.e., Joint Personal...

Aim. In the current study, we aimed at identifying resting-state brain networks, which are different in patients with depression compared to healthy individuals. Moreover, we analyzed the potential for clinical use of different network measures that could discriminate the two groups and thus help the diagnostic process. Method and subjects. We recr...

At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a global problem. Despite all the efforts to emphasize the relevance of preventive measures, not everyone adhered to them. Thus, learning more about the characteristics determining attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic is crucial to improving future interventions. In this study, we applied ma...

Introduction In the current study, we used the Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT) combined with an n-back component in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in order to activate the working memory and cognitive interference in patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) as compared to healthy controls. Our hypothesis was that there would be...

Background and hypotheses: Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) is not only a common symptom in schizophrenia but also observed in individuals in the general population. Despite extensive research, AVHs are poorly understood, especially their underlying neuronal architecture. Neuroimaging methods have been used to identify brain areas and network...

The current understanding of major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) is plagued by a cacophony of controversies as evidenced by competing schools to understand MDD/BD. The DSM/ICD taxonomies have cemented their status as the gold standard for diagnosing MDD/BD. The aim of this review is to discuss the false dogmas that reign in cu...

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all domains of human life, including the economic and social fabric of societies. One of the central strategies for managing public health throughout the pandemic has been through persuasive messaging and collective behavior change. To help scholars better understand the social and moral psychology behind public h...

The current understanding of major depressive (MDD) and bipolar (BD) disorder is plagued by a cacophony of controversies, as evidenced by competing schools to understand MDD/BD. The DSM/ICD taxonomies have cemented their status as the gold standard for diagnosing MDD/BD. The aim of this review is to discuss the false dogmas that reign in current MD...

We used the Mass Multivariate Method on structural, resting-state, and task-related fMRI data from two groups of patients with schizophrenia and depression in order to define several regions of significant relevance to the differential diagnosis of those conditions. The regions included the left planum polare (PP), the left opercular part of the in...

Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and str...

We have used Mass Multivariate Method on structural, resting state and task related fMRI data from two groups of patients with schizophrenia and depression, respectively, in order to define several regions of significant relevance to the differential diagnosis between those conditions. The regions included the left Planum polare, Left opercular par...