Sara Sutori

• Master of Science
• Research Assistant at Karolinska Institutet

Environmental stress and its interaction with genetic variation are key contributors in the development of depression and anxiety, yet there is a failure to identify replicable genetic variants and gene-interaction effects in the background of these psychiatric symptoms. Recently it has been reported that 5-HTTLPR and NOSI interact with financial b...

The capacity to elicit vivid visual mental images varies within an extensive range across individuals between hyper- and aphantasia. It is not clear, however, whether imagery vividness is constant across the lifespan or changes during development and later in life. Without enforcing the constraints of strict experimental procedures and representati...

Introduction The EXPERIENCE project aims to enable the creation and sharing of extended-personal realities in virtual reality (VR). Currently, software and hardware technology are under development, that will automatically generate VR environments based on neurophysiological, psychological, cognitive, and behavioral data to support not only the rec...

Suicide is a global issue accounting for more than 700,000 deaths annually, with low- and middle-income countries being disproportionally affected. Technology-enhanced interventions have been suggested as a preventive method with various benefits—e.g., increased scalability and sustainability, making them relevant for developed and especially for d...

Background There is a clear need for enhanced mental health assessment, depressive symptom (DS) evaluation being no exception. A promising approach to this aim is using virtual reality (VR), which entails the potential of adding a wider set of assessment domains with enhanced ecological validity. However, whilst several studies have used VR for bot...

BACKGROUND There is a clear need for enhanced mental health assessment, depressive symptom (DS) evaluation being no exception. A promising approach to this aim is using virtual reality (VR), which entails the potential of adding a wider set of assessment domains with enhanced ecological validity. However, whilst several studies have used VR for bot...

Introduction The final aim of the EXPERIENCE project is to enable individuals to record and share extended-personal realities in Virtual Reality (VR) - which entails the consideration of a person’s neurophysiological, psychological, and cognitive states. One prospective application is using this technology to aid in assessing symptoms of affective...

Introduction The presence of eating disorders is often associated with serious physical complications, self-destruction, and suicidal tendencies. Furthermore, eating disorders may often present as a symptom of or in comorbidity with personality disorders. In order to treat eating disorder patients successfully we need a more complex and individual...

Introduction Although suicide claims more lives than war and homicide, we still have no sufficient and effective methods either for its prediction or for its prevention. Our screening methods are laborous and subjective both on the side of the patient and on the side of the clinician. Understanding the genetic background of suicidal behaviour would...

Both early childhood traumatic experiences and current stress increase the risk of suicidal behaviour, in which immune activation might play a role. Previous research suggests an association between mood disorders and P2RX7 gene encoding P2X7 receptors, which stimulate neuroinflammation. We investigated the effect of P2RX7 variation in interaction...

Emotional stress is a leading risk factor in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders possibly via immune activation. P2X7 receptors promote neuroinflammation, and research suggests a relationship between chromosome region 12q2431, in which the P2X7R gene is located, and development of mood disorders, however, few studies concentrate on its as...

COVID-19 has created a situation that has never been experienced before, challenging the mobilization of adaptive coping strategies. There has been a marked increase in suicides and suicidal ideation following the onset of COVID-19 likely reflecting the toll of the pandemic on mental health. The aim of our study to investigate the associations betw...

The capacity to elicit vivid visual mental images varies within an extensive range across individuals between hyper- and aphantasia. It is not clear, however, whether imagery vividness is constant across the lifespan or changes during development and later in life. Without enforcing the constraints of strict experimental procedures and representati...

Background: Understanding and predicting suicide remains a challenge, and a recent paradigm shift regarding the complex relationship between the immune system and the brain brought attention to the involvement of inflammation in neuropsychiatric conditions including suicide. Among cytokines, IL-6 has been most frequently implicated in suicide, yet...

The role of circadian dysregulation is increasingly acknowledged in the background of depressive symptoms, and is also a promising treatment target. Similarly, stress shows a complex relationship with the circadian system. The CLOCK gene, encoding a key element in circadian regulation has been implicated in previous candidate variant studies in dep...

The P2X purinoceptor 7 (P2RX7) mediates inflammatory microglial responses and is implicated in neuroimmune mechanisms of depression and neurodegenerative disorders. A number of studies suggest that psychosocial stress may precipitate depression through immune activation. Genetic association studies of P2RX7 variants with depression have been inconc...

Background Lack of proper consideration of the interaction between biological and environmental factors limits our understanding of the development of depression. Our cross-sectional study investigated whether recent stress influences the effect of affective temperaments on depressive symptoms. Methods 1015 general population participants complete...

Background Suicide is an unresolved psychiatric and public health emergency, claiming 800,000 lives each year, however, its neurobiological etiology is still not understood. In spite of original reports concerning the involvement of 5-HTTLPR in interaction with recent stress in the appearance of suicidal ideation and attempts, replication studies h...