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Jeronimus BF, Ormel J, Aleman A, Penninx BWJH, Riese H. Negative and positive life events are associated with small but lasting change in neuroticism. Psychol Med 2013; 43:2403-2415. [PMID: 23410535 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291713000159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND High neuroticism is prospectively associated with psychopathology and physical health. However, within-subject changes in neuroticism due to life experiences (LEs) or state effects of current psychopathology are largely unexplored. In this 2-year follow-up study, four hypotheses were tested: (1) positive LEs (PLEs) decrease and negative LEs (NLEs) increase neuroticism; (2) LE-driven change in neuroticism is partly long-lasting; and (3) partly independent of LE-driven changes in anxiety/depression; and (4) childhood adversity (before age 16 years) moderates the influence of NLEs/PLEs on neuroticism scores in adult life. METHOD Data came from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety [NESDA, n = 2981, mean age 41.99 years (s.d. = 13.08), 66.6% women]. At follow-up (T₂) we assessed PLEs/NLEs with the List of Threatening Experiences (LTE) over the prior 24 months and categorized them over recent and distant PLE/NLE measures (1-3 and 4-24 months prior to T₂ respectively) to distinguish distant NLE/PLE-driven change in trait neuroticism (using the Dutch version of the Neuroticism-Extroversion-Openness Five Factor Inventory, NEO-FFI) from state deviations due to changes in symptoms of depression (self-rated version of the 30-item Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, IDS-SR30) and anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory, BAI). RESULTS Distant NLEs were associated with higher and distant PLEs with lower neuroticism scores. The effects of distant LEs were weak but long-lasting, especially for distant PLEs. Distant NLE-driven change in neuroticism was associated with change in symptoms of anxiety/depression whereas the effect of distant PLEs on neuroticism was independent of any such changes. Childhood adversity weakened the impact of distant NLEs but enhanced the impact of distant PLEs on neuroticism. CONCLUSIONS Distant PLEs are associated with small but long-lasting decreases in neuroticism regardless of changes in symptom levels of anxiety/depression. Long-lasting increases in neuroticism associated with distant NLEs are mediated by anxiety/depression.
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van der Werff SJA, Pannekoek JN, Veer IM, van Tol MJ, Aleman A, Veltman DJ, Zitman FG, Rombouts SARB, Elzinga BM, van der Wee NJA. Resting-state functional connectivity in adults with childhood emotional maltreatment. Psychol Med 2013; 43:1825-1836. [PMID: 23254143 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291712002942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Childhood emotional maltreatment (CEM) has been associated with disturbances in emotional and behavioral functioning, and with changes in regional brain morphology. However, whether CEM has any effect on the intrinsic organization of the brain is not known. In this study, we investigated the effects of CEM on resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) using seeds in the limbic network, the default-mode network (DMN) and the salience network, and the left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). Method Using 3-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), resting-state functional MRI (RS-fMRI) scans were obtained. We defined seeds in the bilateral amygdala, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and the left dmPFC, and used these to examine whether individuals reporting CEM (n=44) differed from individuals reporting no CEM (n=44) in RSFC with other brain regions. The two groups were matched for age, gender, handedness and the presence of psychopathology. RESULTS CEM was associated with decreased RSFC between the right amygdala and the bilateral precuneus and a cluster extending from the left insula to the hippocampus and putamen. In addition, CEM was associated with decreased RSFC between the dACC and the precuneus and also frontal regions of the brain. CONCLUSIONS We found that CEM has a profound effect on RSFC in the limbic network and the salience network. Regions that show aberrant connectivity are related to episodic memory encoding, retrieval and self-processing operations.
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Demenescu LR, Kortekaas R, Cremers HR, Renken RJ, van Tol MJ, van der Wee NJA, Veltman DJ, den Boer JA, Roelofs K, Aleman A. Amygdala activation and its functional connectivity during perception of emotional faces in social phobia and panic disorder. J Psychiatr Res 2013; 47:1024-31. [PMID: 23643103 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2013.03.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2012] [Revised: 02/22/2013] [Accepted: 03/28/2013] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Social phobia (SP) and panic disorder (PD) have been associated with aberrant amygdala responses to threat-related stimuli. The aim of the present study was to examine amygdala function and its connectivity with medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during emotional face perception in PD and SP, and the role of illness severity. Blood oxygen level dependent responses while perceiving emotional facial expressions were compared in 14 patients with PD, 17 patients with SP, 8 patients with comorbid PD and SP, and 16 healthy controls. We found that PD, but not SP, was associated with amygdala and lingual gyrus hypoactivation during perception of angry, fearful, happy and neutral faces, compared to healthy participants. No significant effect of PD and SP diagnoses was found on amygdala-mPFC connectivity. A positive correlation of anxiety symptom severity was found on amygdala-dorsal anterior cingulate and dorsal mPFC connectivity during perception of fearful faces. Amygdala hypoactivation suggests reduced responsiveness to positive and negative emotional faces in PD. Symptom severity, but not the presence of PD and SP diagnosis per se, explains most of the abnormalities in amygdala-mPFC connectivity during perception of fearful faces.
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Sjoerds Z, van Tol MJ, van den Brink W, van der Wee NJA, Aleman A, Beekman ATF, Penninx BWJH, Veltman DJ. Family history of alcohol dependence modulates functional neurophysiology in mood/anxiety disorders. Psychol Med 2013; 43:1487-1497. [PMID: 23036336 DOI: 10.1017/s003329171200222x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A family history (FH) of alcohol dependence (AD) not only increases the risk for AD, but is also associated with an increased risk for mood and anxiety disorders. However, it is unknown how a FH of AD affects neural substrates in patients with mood and anxiety disorders. In this study we examined the effects of an alcoholic FH on cognitive and emotional functions in these patients using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Method In a sample of non-alcoholic patients with depressive and/or anxiety disorders from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA) neuroimaging study, patients with a first-degree FH of AD (FH + ; n = 31) were compared with patients without a FH (FH-; n = 77) on performance and brain activation during visuospatial planning and emotional word encoding. Results were compared with those of healthy controls (HCs) without a FH of AD (n = 31). RESULTS FH+ patients performed slower during planning with increasing task load, coupled with stronger blood oxygen level-dependent responses in dorsal prefrontal areas compared with FH- patients and HCs. FH was not associated with performance differences during word encoding, but right insula activation during positive word encoding was present in FH+ patients, comparable with HCs, but absent in FH- patients. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates subtle impairments during planning in FH+ compared with FH- patients and HCs, whereas activation during mood-incongruent stimuli in FH+ patients was similar to HCs but not FH- patients, suggesting that the presence of a FH of AD is a useful marker for the neurophysiological profile in mood/anxiety disorders and possible predictor for treatment success.
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Pijnenborg GHM, Spikman JM, Jeronimus BF, Aleman A. Insight in schizophrenia: associations with empathy. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2013; 263:299-307. [PMID: 23076736 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-012-0373-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2012] [Accepted: 09/26/2012] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Many people with schizophrenia (50-80%) demonstrate impaired insight, something which has been associated with a poorer outcome. Two types of empathy can be distinguished: affective empathy via shared emotions and cognitive empathy, also referred to as Theory of Mind (ToM). ToM can be subdivided into cognitive ToM (knowledge about beliefs of other people via perspective taking) and affective ToM (knowledge about other people's emotions via perspective taking). Recent studies show a relationship between Theory of Mind (ToM) and insight. However, the relationship between affective empathy and insight in schizophrenia was not examined previously. This was the aim of the present study. We expected that affective empathy would show a stronger relationship with insight than both cognitive and affective ToM. We assessed forty-six patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and fifty-three healthy controls were assessed with a test battery consisting of tests of social cognition (a self-rating scale for affective empathy, a ToM task assessing both cognitive and affective ToM, and two tests of emotion perception), verbal memory, executive functioning, psychomotor speed, and intelligence. Insight was assessed with item G12 of the PANSS-interview. A regression equation showed that affective empathy made the strongest unique contribution to insight, followed closely by affective ToM. Together, they explained 45% of the variance in insight. None of the other independent variables made a unique contribution to the prediction of insight. Both affective ToM and affective empathy are associated with insight in schizophrenia. Being able to take empathize with other peoples feeling at both the affective and cognitive level may enhance insight in schizophrenia.
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Nair A, David A, Aleman A. 2296 – Insight and neurocognition in psychosis: a comprehensive meta-analysis. Eur Psychiatry 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/s0924-9338(13)77151-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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Quee P, Alizadeh B, Aleman A, van den Heuvel E. 1979 – Cognitive subtypes in non-affected siblings of patients with schizophrenia: Characteristics and profile congruency with affected family member. Eur Psychiatry 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/s0924-9338(13)76916-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
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Slotema CW, Aleman A, Daskalakis ZJ, Sommer IE. Meta-analysis of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of auditory verbal hallucinations: update and effects after one month. Schizophr Res 2012; 142:40-5. [PMID: 23031191 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2012.08.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2012] [Revised: 08/20/2012] [Accepted: 08/28/2012] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Several meta-analyses considering repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) have been performed with moderate to high mean weighted effect sizes. Since then several negative findings were reported in relatively large samples. The aim of this study was to provide an update of the literature on the efficacy of rTMS for AVH and to investigate the effect of rTMS one month after the end of treatment. DATA SOURCES A literature search was performed from 1966 through August 2012 using Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, Embase Psychiatry, Ovid Medline, PsycINFO and PubMed. Randomized, double blind, sham-controlled studies with severity of AVH or severity of psychosis as an outcome measure were included. STUDY SELECTION Data were obtained from 17 randomized studies of rTMS for AVH. Five studies fulfilled the criteria for the meta-analysis on the effect of rTMS one month after the end of treatment. DATA EXTRACTION Standardized mean weighted effect sizes of rTMS versus sham were computed on pre- and posttreatment comparisons. DATA SYNTHESIS The mean weighted effect size of rTMS directed at the left temporoparietal area was 0.44 (95% CI 0.19-0.68). A separate meta-analysis including studies directing rTMS at other brain regions revealed a mean weighted effect size of 0.33 (95% CI 0.17-0.50) in favor of real TMS. The effect of rTMS was no longer significant at one month of follow-up (mean weighted effect size=0.40, 95% CI -0.23-0.102). Side effects were mild and the number of dropouts in the real TMS group was not significantly higher than in the sham group. CONCLUSIONS With the inclusion of studies with larger patient samples, the mean weighted effect size of rTMS directed at the left temporoparietal area for AVH has decreased, although the effect is still significant. The duration of the effect of rTMS may be less than one month. More research is needed in order to optimize parameters and further evaluate the clinical relevance of this intervention.
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Althabe F, Berrueta M, Mazzoni A, Morello P, Aleman A, Colomar M, Tong V, Farr S, Dietz P, Belizán J, Buekens P. I016 PRENATAL TOBACCO CESSATION INTERVENTION FOR WOMEN IN LATIN AMERICA. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/s0020-7292(12)60046-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Woudstra S, Bochdanovits Z, van Tol MJ, Veltman DJ, Zitman FG, van Buchem MA, van der Wee NJ, Opmeer EM, Demenescu LR, Aleman A, Penninx BW, Hoogendijk WJ. Piccolo genotype modulates neural correlates of emotion processing but not executive functioning. Transl Psychiatry 2012; 2:e99. [PMID: 22832909 PMCID: PMC3337071 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2012.29] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by affective symptoms and cognitive impairments, which have been associated with changes in limbic and prefrontal activity as well as with monoaminergic neurotransmission. A genome-wide association study implicated the polymorphism rs2522833 in the piccolo (PCLO) gene--involved in monoaminergic neurotransmission--as a risk factor for MDD. However, the role of the PCLO risk allele in emotion processing and executive function or its effect on their neural substrate has never been studied. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate PCLO risk allele carriers vs noncarriers during an emotional face processing task and a visuospatial planning task in 159 current MDD patients and healthy controls. In PCLO risk allele carriers, we found increased activity in the left amygdala during processing of angry and sad faces compared with noncarriers, independent of psychopathological status. During processing of fearful faces, the PCLO risk allele was associated with increased amygdala activation in MDD patients only. During the visuospatial planning task, we found no genotype effect on performance or on BOLD signal in our predefined areas as a function of increasing task load. The PCLO risk allele was found to be specifically associated with altered emotion processing, but not with executive dysfunction. Moreover, the PCLO risk allele appears to modulate amygdala function during fearful facial processing in MDD and may constitute a possible link between genotype and susceptibility for depression via altered processing of fearful stimuli. The current results may therefore aid in better understanding underlying neurobiological mechanisms in MDD.
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Demenescu LR, Renken R, Kortekaas R, van Tol MJ, Marsman JBC, van Buchem MA, van der Wee NJA, Veltman DJ, den Boer JA, Aleman A. Neural correlates of perception of emotional facial expressions in out-patients with mild-to-moderate depression and anxiety. A multicenter fMRI study. Psychol Med 2011; 41:2253-2264. [PMID: 21557888 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291711000596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Depression has been associated with limbic hyperactivation and frontal hypoactivation in response to negative facial stimuli. Anxiety disorders have also been associated with increased activation of emotional structures such as the amygdala and insula. This study examined to what extent activation of brain regions involved in perception of emotional faces is specific to depression and anxiety disorders in a large community-based sample of out-patients. METHOD An event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm was used including angry, fearful, sad, happy and neutral facial expressions. One hundred and eighty-two out-patients (59 depressed, 57 anxiety and 66 co-morbid depression-anxiety) and 56 healthy controls selected from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA) were included in the present study. Whole-brain analyses were conducted. The temporal profile of amygdala activation was also investigated. RESULTS Facial expressions activated the amygdala and fusiform gyrus in depressed patients with or without anxiety and in healthy controls, relative to scrambled faces, but this was less evident in patients with anxiety disorders. The response shape of the amygdala did not differ between groups. Depressed patients showed dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) hyperactivation in response to happy faces compared to healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that stronger frontal activation to happy faces in depressed patients may reflect increased demands on effortful emotion regulation processes triggered by mood-incongruent stimuli. The lack of strong differences in neural activation to negative emotional faces, relative to healthy controls, may be characteristic of the mild-to-moderate severity of illness in this sample and may be indicative of a certain cognitive-emotional processing reserve.
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van Tol MJ, van der Wee NJA, Demenescu LR, Nielen MMA, Aleman A, Renken R, van Buchem MA, Zitman FG, Veltman DJ. Functional MRI correlates of visuospatial planning in out-patient depression and anxiety. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2011; 124:273-84. [PMID: 21480834 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2011.01702.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Major depressive disorder (MDD) has been associated with executive dysfunction and related abnormal prefrontal activity, whereas the status of executive function (EF) in frequently co-occurring anxiety disorders and in comorbid depression-anxiety is unclear. We aimed to study functional MRI correlates of (visuospatial) planning in MDD and anxiety disorders and to test for the effects of their comorbidity. METHOD Functional MRI was employed during performance of a parametric Tower of London task in out-patients with MDD (n = 65), MDD with comorbid anxiety (n = 82) or anxiety disorders without MDD (n = 64), and controls (n = 63). RESULTS Moderately/severely depressed patients with MDD showed increased left dorsolateral prefrontal activity as a function of task load, together with subtle slowing during task execution. In mildly depressed and remitted MDD patients, in anxiety patients, and in patients with comorbid depression-anxiety, task performance was normal and no activation differences were observed. Medication use and regional brain volume were not associated with altered visuospatial planning. CONCLUSION Prefrontal hyperactivation during high planning demands is not a trait characteristic, but a state characteristic of MDD without comorbid anxiety, occurring independent of SSRI use. Disturbances in planning or the related activation are probably not a feature of anxiety disorders with or without comorbid MDD, supporting the current distinction between anxiety disorders and depression.
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van Rijn S, Aleman A, de Sonneville L, Sprong M, Ziermans T, Schothorst P, van Engeland H, Swaab H. Neuroendocrine markers of high risk for psychosis: salivary testosterone in adolescent boys with prodromal symptoms. Psychol Med 2011; 41:1815-1822. [PMID: 21251344 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291710002576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The peak in age of onset of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia during puberty and early adulthood suggests a relationship between the expression of psychopathology and the changes in the brain and body that take place during this dynamic maturational period, including a dramatic increase in circulating oestrogens and androgens. This study examined levels of salivary testosterone and oestradiol in adolescents with prepsychotic, prodromal symptoms, as this may mediate risk for psychosis by having an impact on brain development. METHOD In 21 male adolescents with prodromal symptoms and 21 male non-clinical controls levels of testosterone and oestradiol were measured in saliva. Tanner pubertal stage and prodromal symptoms were also assessed. RESULTS Levels of testosterone were significantly lower in adolescents with prodromal symptoms as compared with non-clinical controls. No group differences in oestradiol were found. In the total sample, level of testosterone was significantly correlated with age and Tanner pubertal stage. CONCLUSIONS Our observations are in line with current hypotheses stressing the role of neuroendocrine factors during adolescence in the expression of psychotic symptoms. From a developmental perspective, susceptibility to psychotic disorders increases during adolescence. Our data suggest that testosterone might, in part, mediate this increased vulnerability. Further research is needed to assess the mediating, neural, mechanisms through which testosterone may have an impact on the development of psychotic symptoms. In the search for early risk markers for psychosis, studying neuroendocrine factors might increase our understanding of 'at-risk' developmental pathways.
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Vercammen A, Bais L, Bruggeman R, Knegtering R, Aleman A. PTMS33 Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of temporoparietal cortex for chronic hallucinations in patients with schizophrenia. Clin Neurophysiol 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/s1388-2457(11)60686-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Liemburg E, Aleman A, Bous J, Hollander K, Knegtering H. An open randomized pilot trial on the differential effects of aripiprazole versus risperidone on anhedonia and subjective well-being. PHARMACOPSYCHIATRY 2011; 44:109-13. [PMID: 21432752 DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1271688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Negative symptoms of schizophrenia often predict an unfavorable clinical outcome. Disturbed dopamine transmission in different brain parts may underlie different aspects of negative symptoms, and the effect of antipsychotics on them may also differ. This pilot study investigated the potentially therapeutic effects of the partial dopamine agonist aripiprazole on different negative symptoms. METHODS This pilot study randomly assigned patients with schizophrenia (N=40) to either aripiprazole or risperidone. After 6 weeks of treatment, the severity of negative symptoms was determined by the PANSS. Subscales of self-report questionnaires were used to assess differences in initiative, anhedonia, social functioning and subjective well-being. RESULTS Patients treated with aripiprazole showed a significant improvement on measures for anhedonia and subjective wellbeing. Negative symptoms in general, lack of initiative and social inhibition were also lower in the aripiprazole treated group, but without reaching statistical significance. DISCUSSION According to this pilot study, aripiprazole appears to specifically improve anhedonia and subjective wellbeing compared to risperidone. This may be caused by a specific effect of aripiprazole on the limbic branch of the dopamine system. Future studies should replicate this finding with a larger sample size.
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van Rijn S, Aleman A, de Sonneville L, Sprong M, Ziermans T, Schothorst P, van Engeland H, Swaab H. Misattribution of facial expressions of emotion in adolescents at increased risk of psychosis: the role of inhibitory control. Psychol Med 2011; 41:499-508. [PMID: 20507669 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291710000929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND By studying behavior, cognitive abilities and brain functioning in adolescents at high risk for psychosis, we can gain an insight into the vulnerability markers or protective factors in the development of psychotic symptoms. Although many high-risk studies have focused on impairments in neurocognitive functions, such as memory and attention, very few studies have investigated problems in processing social cues such as facial expressions as a possible vulnerability marker for psychosis. METHOD Thirty-six adolescents at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis and 21 non-clinical controls completed a face recognition test, a facial affect labeling test and an inhibitory control test. Schizotypal traits and schizophrenia symptoms were assessed using a schizotypy questionnaire and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). RESULTS The UHR group showed impairments in labeling facial expressions of others, in addition to a spared ability to recognize facial identity. More specifically, the UHR group made more errors in labeling neutral expressions compared to the controls, and an analysis of error types indicated that neutral faces were misattributed as being angry. The degree of misattribution of neutral-as-angry faces correlated significantly with reduced inhibitory control. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that misattributing social cues might contribute to vulnerability for psychosis. This social cognitive deficit may be related to problems in inhibitory control, which potentially plays an important role in the selection of appropriate social meaning. These findings may have relevance for understanding the mechanisms underlying prodromal social dysfunction, which should be targeted in future remediation interventions.
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Modinos G, Mechelli A, Ormel J, Groenewold NA, Aleman A, McGuire PK. Schizotypy and brain structure: a voxel-based morphometry study. Psychol Med 2010; 40:1423-1431. [PMID: 19917146 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291709991875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizotypy is conceptualized as a subclinical manifestation of the same underlying biological factors that give rise to schizophrenia and other schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Individuals with psychometric schizotypy (PS) experience subthreshold psychotic signs and can be psychometrically identified among the general population. Previous research using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown gray-matter volume (GMV) abnormalities in chronic schizophrenia, in subjects with an at-risk mental state (ARMS) and in individuals with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD). However, to date, no studies have investigated the neuroanatomical correlates of PS. METHOD Six hundred first- and second-year university students completed the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE), a self-report instrument on psychosis proneness measuring attenuated positive psychotic experiences. A total of 38 subjects with high and low PS were identified and subsequently scanned with MRI. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was applied to examine GMV differences between subjects with high and low positive PS. RESULTS Subjects with high positive PS showed larger global volumes compared to subjects with low PS, and larger regional volumes in the medial posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and the precuneus. There were no regions where GMV was greater in low than in high positive PS subjects. CONCLUSIONS These regions, the PCC and precuneus, have also been sites of volumetric differences in MRI studies of ARMS subjects and schizophrenia, suggesting that psychotic or psychotic-like experiences may have common neuroanatomical correlates across schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
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van der Eelke H, Kruisselbrink J, Aleman A, Emmerich MT, Bender A, IJzerman AP. Evolutionary design of selective adenosine receptor ligands. J Cheminform 2010. [PMCID: PMC2867183 DOI: 10.1186/1758-2946-2-s1-p48] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
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Pijnenborg GAM, Aleman A. [Awareness of illness in patients with schizophrenia: theoretical insights and a proposal for treatment]. TIJDSCHRIFT VOOR PSYCHIATRIE 2010; 52:825-835. [PMID: 21154221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The percentage of persons with schizophrenia who have only a limited insight into their illness is rather large (50–80%); this has a negative impact on specific outcomes. Up till now there has not been a universal model that can explain this limited insight. Furthermore, there is a lack of treatment options and interventions likely to improve patients' insight into their illness. AIM To provide an overview of the literature on insight of patients into their illness and suggest a model for treatment. METHOD In this essay we review the literature dealing with the insight of patients with schizophrenia and thereafter we discuss the correlates of insight (illness variables as well as outcomes), theoretical models of insight and current treatment of options. RESULTS On the basis of the literature we propose a new theoretical model which incorporates factors from earlier models and which aims to improve patients' insight into their illness. Using the preconditions for insight specified in our models (namely, sensitivity to stigma, seeing the illness in perspective, mental flexibility and self-reflection) we have developed a new treatment (reflex) for improving the insight of persons with schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS The treatment will be evaluated in the course of the next two years at eight centres in the Netherlands providing treatment for persons with schizophrenia; the evaluation should tell us whether the proposed treatment is effective in increasing patient's insight into their illness.
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Goerlich K, Martens S, Aleman A. The Processing of Emotional Prosody in Alexithymia, an EEG study. Neuroimage 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/s1053-8119(09)72155-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
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Veer IM, Beckmann CF, Baerends E, van Tol MJ, Ferrarini L, Milles JR, Veltman DJ, Aleman A, van Buchem MA, van der Wee NJA, Rombouts SARB. Reduced Functional Connectivity in Major Depression: a Whole Brain Study of Multiple Resting-State Networks. Neuroimage 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/s1053-8119(09)70421-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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Demenescu LR, Kortekaas R, Renken R, van Tol MJ, van der Wee NJA, Veltman DJ, den Boer JA, Aleman A. The Netherlands Study of Anxiety and Depression (NESDA): Amygdala response to facial expressions. Neuroimage 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/s1053-8119(09)72018-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
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Cebrian V, Alvarez M, Aleman A, Palou J, Bellmunt J, Gonzalez-Peramato P, Cordón-Cardo C, García J, Piulats JM, Sánchez-Carbayo M. Discovery of myopodin methylation in bladder cancer. J Pathol 2008; 216:111-9. [PMID: 18636402 DOI: 10.1002/path.2390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Myopodin is an actin-binding protein that shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. After identifying an enriched CpG island encompassing the transcription site of myopodin, we aimed at evaluating the potential relevance of myopodin methylation in bladder cancer. The epigenetic silencing of myopodin by hypermethylation was tested in bladder cancer cells (n=12) before and after azacytidine treatment. Myopodin hypermethylation was associated with gene expression, being increased in vitro by this demethylating agent. The methylation status of myopodin promoter was then evaluated by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MS-PCR) analyses. Myopodin was revealed to be frequently methylated in a large series of 466 bladder tumours (68.7%). Myopodin methylation was significantly associated with tumour stage (p<0.0005) and tumour grade (p=0.037). Myopodin expression patterns were analysed by immunohistochemistry on tissue arrays containing bladder tumours for which myopodin methylation was assessed (n=177). The presence of low nuclear myopodin expression alone (p = 0.031) or combined with myopodin methylation (p=0.008) was associated with poor survival. Moreover, myopodin methylation in 164 urinary specimens distinguished patients with bladder cancer from controls with a sensitivity of 65.0%, a specificity of 79.8%, and a global accuracy of 75.3%. Thus, myopodin was identified to be epigenetically modified in bladder cancer. The association of myopodin methylation and nuclear expression patterns with cancer progression and clinical outcome, together with its ability to detect bladder cancer patients using urinary specimens, suggests the utility of incorporating myopodin methylation assessment in the clinical management of patients affected by uroepithelial neoplasias.
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Andrieu S, Barberger-Gateau P, Raffaitin C, Berr C, Tzourio C, Dartigues JF, Gin H, Fitten LJ, Ortiz F, Fairbanks L, Bartzokis G, Lu P, Ringman J, Heyn PC, Locher JL, Salvà A, Andrieu S, Fernández E, Vellas B, van de Rest O, Geleijnse JM, Kok FJ, van Staveren WA, Beekman ATF, Hoefnagels WHL, de Groot CPGM, Angevaren M, Aufdemkampe G, Verhaar HJJ, Aleman A, Vannees L, Arkin S, Florez H, Gerstein H, Sheridan P, Bosch J, Goldberg R, Kaspar KM, Drawert SM, Marcus RL, Kidde J, Dibble L, Addison O, LaStayo PC, Scarmeas N, Stern Y, Schupf N, Luchsinger JA, Sharkey JR, Laditka JN, Laditka SB, Liu R, Hochhalter A, Robare JF, Türner N, Judge M, Foster TC, Erdos B, Cudykier I, Scarpace PJ, Weiss LA, Bergstrom J, Kritz-Silverstein D, Barrett-Connor E, Yurko-Mauro K, Nelson E, Quinn J, Sattler FR, Castaneda-Sceppa C, Binder EF, Schroeder ET, Wang Y, Bhasin S, Kawakubo M, Stewart Y, Hahn C, Colletti P, Roubenoff R, Yarasheski KE, Azen SP, Aoki Y, Yamamoto T, Otuka T, Blanc-Bisson C, Bourdel-Marchasson I, Bocock MA, Keller HH, Bowman G, Baxter J, Oken B, Frei B, Traber M, Leonard S, Kaye J, Shannon J, Quinn J, Carlsson M, Gustafson Y, Eriksson S, Littbrand H, Håglin L, Danthiir V, Wilson C, Nettelbeck T, Burns N, Wittert G, Noakes M, Clifton P, DiMaria-Ghalili RA, Grieger JA, Nowson CA, Wattanapenpaiboon NT, Holstein J, Robinson C, Hartmann C, Rueb S, Heffel L, Dintaman S, Reynolds J, Fleming L, Crull M, Goldey J, Serper LL, Hubbard R, Westengard J, Horning M, Ishige Y, Aoki Y, Keller HH, Keller HH, LaStayo PC, Marcus RL, Smith S, Kidde J, Dibble L, Butler C, Hill M, LaStayo PC, Marcus RL, Dibble L, Kidde J, Peters C, Meier W, Laughlin GA, Kritz-Silverstein D, von Muhlen D, Barrett-Connor E, Olariu L, Petcu M, Tulcan C, Pup M, Otilingam P, Gate M, Pasinetti GM, Ray B, Chauhan NB, Bailey JA, Lahiri DK, Shatenstein B, Kergoat MJ, Reid I, Chicoine ME, Vaz L, Stewart R, Sabbah W, Tsakos G, D’Aiuto F, Watt RG, Sturman M, Kelly J, Fleischman D, Leurgans S, Bennett D, Morris MC, Suominen MH, Muurinen S, Soini H, Pitkälä KH, Yamamoto T, Fujinoki C, Aoki Y. 3rd IANA (International Academy on Nutrition and Aging) Meeting Nutrition, Exercise & Alzheimer and Clinical Trials on Sarcopenia August 1–2, 2008 Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort 1300 Tuyuna Trail Santa Ana Pueblo, NM USA. J Nutr Health Aging 2008. [DOI: 10.1007/bf02982702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Vercammen A, de Haan EHF, Aleman A. Hearing a voice in the noise: auditory hallucinations and speech perception. Psychol Med 2008; 38:1177-1184. [PMID: 18076771 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291707002437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND It has recently been suggested that auditory hallucinations are the result of a criterion shift when deciding whether or not a meaningful signal has emerged. The approach proposes that a liberal criterion may result in increased false-positive identifications, without additional perceptual deficit. To test this hypothesis, we devised a speech discrimination task and used signal detection theory (SDT) to investigate the underlying cognitive mechanisms. METHOD Schizophrenia patients with and without auditory hallucinations and a healthy control group completed a speech discrimination task. They had to decide whether a particular spoken word was identical to a previously presented speech stimulus, embedded in noise. SDT was used on the accuracy data to calculate a measure of perceptual sensitivity (Az) and a measure of response bias (beta). Thresholds for the perception of simple tones were determined. RESULTS Compared to healthy controls, perceptual thresholds were higher and perceptual sensitivity in the speech task was lower in both patient groups. However, hallucinating patients showed increased sensitivity to speech stimuli compared to non-hallucinating patients. In addition, we found some evidence of a positive response bias in hallucinating patients, indicating a tendency to readily accept that a certain stimulus had been presented. CONCLUSIONS Within the context of schizophrenia, patients with auditory hallucinations show enhanced sensitivity to speech stimuli, combined with a liberal criterion for deciding that a perceived event is an actual stimulus.
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