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Kristensen TD, Ambrosen KS, Raghava JM, Syeda WT, Dhollander T, Lemvigh CK, Bojesen KB, Barber AD, Nielsen MØ, Rostrup E, Pantelis C, Fagerlund B, Glenthøj BY, Ebdrup BH. Structural and functional connectivity in relation to executive functions in antipsychotic-naïve patients with first episode schizophrenia and levels of glutamatergic metabolites. SCHIZOPHRENIA (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 10:72. [PMID: 39217180 PMCID: PMC11366027 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-024-00487-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Patients with schizophrenia exhibit structural and functional dysconnectivity but the relationship to the well-documented cognitive impairments is less clear. This study investigates associations between structural and functional connectivity and executive functions in antipsychotic-naïve patients experiencing schizophrenia. Sixty-four patients with schizophrenia and 95 matched controls underwent cognitive testing, diffusion weighted imaging and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging. In the primary analyses, groupwise interactions between structural connectivity as measured by fixel-based analyses and executive functions were investigated using multivariate linear regression analyses. For significant structural connections, secondary analyses examined whether functional connectivity and associations with executive functions also differed for the two groups. In group comparisons, patients exhibited cognitive impairments across all executive functions compared to controls (p < 0.001), but no group difference were observed in the fixel-based measures. Primary analyses revealed a groupwise interaction between planning abilities and fixel-based measures in the left anterior thalamic radiation (p = 0.004), as well as interactions between cognitive flexibility and fixel-based measures in the isthmus of corpus callosum and cingulum (p = 0.049). Secondary analyses revealed increased functional connectivity between grey matter regions connected by the left anterior thalamic radiation (left thalamus with pars opercularis p = 0.018, and pars orbitalis p = 0.003) in patients compared to controls. Moreover, a groupwise interaction was observed between cognitive flexibility and functional connectivity between contralateral regions connected by the isthmus (precuneus p = 0.028, postcentral p = 0.012), all p-values corrected for multiple comparisons. We conclude that structural and functional connectivity appear to associate with executive functions differently in antipsychotic-naïve patients with schizophrenia compared to controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tina D Kristensen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark.
| | - Karen S Ambrosen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Jayachandra M Raghava
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark
- Functional Imaging Unit, Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Warda T Syeda
- Melbourne Brain Center Imaging Unit, Department of Radiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Thijs Dhollander
- Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Cecilie K Lemvigh
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Kirsten B Bojesen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Anita D Barber
- Department of Psychiatry, Zucker Hillside Hospital and Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Northwell, NY, USA
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Mette Ø Nielsen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Egill Rostrup
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Christos Pantelis
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Birgitte Fagerlund
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Mental Health Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hellerup, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Birte Y Glenthøj
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Bjørn H Ebdrup
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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2
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Jeong JH, Kim SW, Yu JC, Won SH, Lee SH, Kim SH, Kang SH, Kim E, Chung YC, Lee KY. Clinical, cognitive, and functional characteristics of recent-onset psychosis with autistic features: A 2-year longitudinal study. Schizophr Res 2024; 270:304-316. [PMID: 38944977 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2024.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2024] [Revised: 06/08/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Though categorized as separate illnesses, schizophrenia and autism are known to exhibit shared characteristics. This study explored the distinctions in clinical, cognitive, and functional characteristics among individuals with recent-onset psychosis, considering the severity of their autistic symptoms, involving longitudinal examinations. We analyzed 671 patients with recent-onset psychosis from Korean Early Psychosis Cohort Study (KEPS), and used the PANSS Autism Severity Score (PAUSS) to categorize patient into 'autistic', 'moderate', and 'non-autistic' groups. The autistic group had the highest rate of schizophrenia diagnosis, and the lowest incidence of comorbid psychiatric disorders. Schizophrenia diagnosis predicted membership of the autistic group. More severe autistic symptoms correlated with worse overall symptoms and functional outcomes, which significantly predicted membership of the autistic group. Cognitive impairments and emotional recognition difficulties increased with the severity of autistic symptoms. 2-year longitudinal assessments demonstrated that group differences in autistic features and overall symptoms, and functional outcomes remained consistent, and membership of the autistic group significantly predicted symptomatic remission and functional recovery. In conclusion, the presence of autistic symptoms has a significant impact on the overall symptomatology and functional capabilities. They are enduring attributes rather than temporary state variables, and serve as a significant predictor for both symptomatic and functional recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jae Hoon Jeong
- Department of Psychiatry, Nowon Eulji University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Psychiatry, Eulji University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Sung-Wan Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
| | - Je-Chun Yu
- Department of Psychiatry, Eulji University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea; Department of Psychiatry, Eulji University Hospital, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung-Hee Won
- Department of Psychiatry, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung-Hwan Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Inje University College of Medicine, Goyang, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung-Hyun Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Korea University College of Medicine, Guro Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Shi Hyun Kang
- Department of Social Psychiatry and Rehabilitation, National Center for Mental Health, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Euitae Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Young-Chul Chung
- Department of Psychiatry, Jeonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Republic of Korea; Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Jeonbuk National University-Biomedical Research Institute of Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju, Republic of Korea.
| | - Kyu Young Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Nowon Eulji University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Psychiatry, Eulji University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
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Kumar S, Davidson CA, Saini R, Jain R. The Role of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Religiousness in Schizotypal Personality and Life Satisfaction: A Cross-Sectional Study. THE JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2024:1-19. [PMID: 39013006 DOI: 10.1080/00223980.2024.2372578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Intolerance of uncertainty is an important trans-diagnostic determinant of mental disorders. It is related to psychotic symptoms and religiousness. Religiousness is related to schizotypal personality and wellbeing. Therefore, in a cross-sectional study, we studied the effects of intolerance of uncertainty and religiousness on schizotypal personality and the schizotypal personality-mediated effects of intolerance of uncertainty and religiousness on life satisfaction. On a sample of 734 college students (age, M = 20.3, SD = 3.48), intolerance of uncertainty, religiousness, life satisfaction, and schizotypal personality were measured through paper-pencil questionnaires. The results showed that intolerance of uncertainty had positive (direct) relationships with all schizotypal personality dimensions. However, intolerance of uncertainty had positive (mediated by ideas of reference and magical thinking) and negative (mediated by eccentric behavior) indirect effects on life satisfaction. Religiousness had direct as well as indirect (mediated by eccentric behavior) positive effects on life satisfaction. However, the behaving (mediated by ideas of reference) and belonging (mediated by magical thinking) sub-dimensions of religiousness had some indirect negative effects on life satisfaction. Thus, the present study shows that intolerance of uncertainty is an important contributor to psychotic proneness. Religiousness is largely health-enhancing. Moreover, there is a nuanced pattern of interactional relationship between intolerance of uncertainty, religiousness, schizotypal personality, and life satisfaction. We have discussed the theoretical and applied implications of the findings.
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Kramer P. Iconic logic: the visual art of drawing the right conclusion. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1368989. [PMID: 38911953 PMCID: PMC11190960 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1368989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Most people, evidence suggests, have a hard time thinking straight. Symbolic logic is a tool that can help remedy this problem. Unfortunately, it is highly abstract and uses symbols whose meanings rely on unintuitive arbitrary conventions. Without sacrificing rigor, iconic logic is more concrete and uses icons that resemble what they stand for and whose meanings are thus easier to picture, process, and remember. Here I review and critique iconic existential graphs and concept diagrams-the former link iconic logic to iconic mathematics; the latter expand popular Euler or Venn diagrams and have, to some degree, been empirically investigated for user-friendliness. I lay out how expertise in perception, cognition, and genetics can inform and improve such empirical research to help make iconic logic more ergonomic. After all, logic is a tool, and tools should not only suit their use but also their user.
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Bottiroli S, Rosi A, Lecce S, Sances G, Allena M, De Icco R, Vecchi T, Tassorelli C, Cavallini E. Theory of mind in chronic migraine with medication overuse assessed with the MASC. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6998. [PMID: 38523197 PMCID: PMC10961316 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57559-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to infer one's own and others' mental states. Growing research indicates that ToM is impaired in Chronic Migraine with Medication Overuse (CM + MO). However, the research in this field has been conducted using static scenario-based tasks, often failing to test mentalization in everyday situations and measuring only performance accuracy. We filled this gap by administering the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC) to subjects with CM + MO compared to episodic migraine (EM). This test allows us to assess both affective and cognitive ToM and which, in addition to being accurate, also analyzes the type of error in attribution of mental states, distinguishing between hypo-mentalization and hyper-mentalization. Thirty patients suffering from CM + MO and 42 from EM were enrolled. Results showed that CM + MO patients were less accurate in mental state attribution than EM. In addition, compared to EM, CM + MO individuals were more impaired in the affective ToM dimensions and committed more errors of hypo-mentalization. In conclusion, the application of MASC in patients with CM + MO allowed for the detection of an alteration in their ability to correctly draw conclusions about other people's mental states. This latter contributes critically to appropriate social reactions and also, possibly, to satisfactory social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Bottiroli
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
- Headache Science and Neurorehabilitation Centre, IRCCS C. Mondino Foundation, National Neurological Institute, Via Mondino 2, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
| | - Alessia Rosi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Serena Lecce
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Grazia Sances
- Headache Science and Neurorehabilitation Centre, IRCCS C. Mondino Foundation, National Neurological Institute, Via Mondino 2, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - Marta Allena
- Headache Science and Neurorehabilitation Centre, IRCCS C. Mondino Foundation, National Neurological Institute, Via Mondino 2, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - Roberto De Icco
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Headache Science and Neurorehabilitation Centre, IRCCS C. Mondino Foundation, National Neurological Institute, Via Mondino 2, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - Tomaso Vecchi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Applied Psychology Centre, IRCCS C. Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Cristina Tassorelli
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Headache Science and Neurorehabilitation Centre, IRCCS C. Mondino Foundation, National Neurological Institute, Via Mondino 2, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - Elena Cavallini
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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Hunt AD, Procyshyn TL. Changing perspectives on autism: Overlapping contributions of evolutionary psychiatry and the neurodiversity movement. Autism Res 2024; 17:459-466. [PMID: 38233966 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/02/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Perspectives on autism and psychiatric conditions are affected by a mix of scientific and social influences. Evolutionary psychiatry (EP) and the neurodiversity movement are emerging paradigms that reflect these distinct influences, with the former grounded in scientific theory and the latter driven by political and social principles. Despite their separate foundations, there is a significant overlap between EP and neurodiversity that has not been explored. Specifically, both paradigms reframe disorders as natural cognitive differences rather than disease; expand the concept of "normal" beyond that implied in modern psychiatry; focus on relative strengths; recognize that modern environments disadvantage certain individuals to cause functional impairment; emphasize cognitive variation being socially accommodated and integrated rather than treated or cured; and can help reduce stigmatization. However, in other ways, they are distinct and sometimes in conflict. EP emphasizes scientific explanation, defines "dysfunction" in objective terms, and differentiates heterogenous cases based on underlying causes (e.g. autism due to de novo genetic mutations). The neurodiversity movement emphasizes social action, removes barriers to inclusion, promotes inclusive language, and allows unrestricted identification as neurodivergent. By comparing and contrasting these two approaches, we find that EP can, to some extent, support the goals of neurodiversity. In particular, EP perspectives could be convincing to groups more responsive to scientific evidence and help achieve a middle ground between neurodiversity advocates and critics of the movement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam D Hunt
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tanya L Procyshyn
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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7
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Bennert K, Brosnan M, Canning A, Roberts G, Russell A. Paranoia and Data-Gathering Biases in Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 2024:10.1007/s10803-024-06301-w. [PMID: 38421502 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-024-06301-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Previous research has identified contradictory patterns in autism upon probabilistic reasoning tasks, and high levels of self-report paranoia symptoms have also been reported. To explore this relationship, the present study assessed 64 non-autistic and 39 autistic adults on two variants of a probabilistic reasoning task which examined the amount of evidence required before making a decision and 'jumping to conclusions' (a neutral beads task and an emotionally-salient words variant). The autism group was found to require significantly more evidence before making a decision and to have significantly less jumping to conclusions than the non-autistic group. For those with relatively low levels of paranoia, the emotionally-salient variant impacted on the non-autistic group, but not the autism group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Bennert
- Centre for Applied Autism Research, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Mark Brosnan
- Centre for Applied Autism Research, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.
| | - Amy Canning
- Fromeside Secure Services, Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Trust, Bristol, UK
| | - Ged Roberts
- Specialist Nurse, Bristol Autism Spectrum Service, Bristol, UK
| | - Ailsa Russell
- Centre for Applied Autism Research, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
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8
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Procyshyn TL, Tsompanidis A, Baron-Cohen S. Embracing evolutionary theories of autism: Implications for psychiatry. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2024; 149:85-87. [PMID: 38221858 DOI: 10.1111/acps.13653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Tanya L Procyshyn
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Alex Tsompanidis
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Simon Baron-Cohen
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Mayo O, Shamay-Tsoory S. Dynamic mutual predictions during social learning: A computational and interbrain model. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 157:105513. [PMID: 38135267 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
During social interactions, we constantly learn about the thoughts, feelings, and personality traits of our interaction partners. Learning in social interactions is critical for bond formation and acquiring knowledge. Importantly, this type of learning is typically bi-directional, as both partners learn about each other simultaneously. Here we review the literature on social learning and propose a new computational and neural model characterizing mutual predictions that take place within and between interactions. According to our model, each partner in the interaction attempts to minimize the prediction error of the self and the interaction partner. In most cases, these inferential models become similar over time, thus enabling mutual understanding to develop. At the neural level, this type of social learning may be supported by interbrain plasticity, defined as a change in interbrain coupling over time in neural networks associated with social learning, among them the mentalizing network, the observation-execution system, and the hippocampus. The mutual prediction model constitutes a promising means of providing empirically verifiable accounts of how relationships develop over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oded Mayo
- The Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
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Piffer D, Kirkegaard EOW. Evolutionary Trends of Polygenic Scores in European Populations From the Paleolithic to Modern Times. Twin Res Hum Genet 2024; 27:30-49. [PMID: 38444325 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2024.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
This study examines the temporal and geographical evolution of polygenic scores (PGSs) across cognitive measures (Educational Attainment [EA], Intelligence Quotient [IQ]), Socioeconomic Status (SES), and psychiatric conditions (Autism Spectrum Disorder [ASD], schizophrenia [SCZ]) in various populations. Our findings indicate positive directional selection for EA, IQ, and SES traits over the past 12,000 years. Schizophrenia and autism, while similar, showed different temporal patterns, aligning with theories suggesting they are psychological opposites. We observed a decline in PGS for neuroticism and depression, likely due to their genetic correlations and pleiotropic effects on intelligence. Significant PGS shifts from the Upper Paleolithic to the Neolithic periods suggest lifestyle and cognitive demand changes, particularly during the Neolithic Revolution. The study supports a mild hypothesis of Gregory Clark's model, showing a noticeable rise in genetic propensities for intelligence, academic achievement and professional status across Europe from the Middle Ages to the present. While latitude strongly influenced height, its impact on schizophrenia and autism was smaller and varied. Contrary to the cold winters theory, the study found no significant correlation between latitude and intelligence.
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Nenadić I, Meller T, Evermann U, Pfarr JK, Federspiel A, Walther S, Grezellschak S, Abu-Akel A. Modelling the overlap and divergence of autistic and schizotypal traits on hippocampal subfield volumes and regional cerebral blood flow. Mol Psychiatry 2024; 29:74-84. [PMID: 37891246 PMCID: PMC11078729 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02302-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
Psychiatric disorders show high co-morbidity, including co-morbid expressions of subclinical psychopathology across multiple disease spectra. Given the limitations of classical case-control designs in elucidating this overlap, new approaches are needed to identify biological underpinnings of spectra and their interaction. We assessed autistic-like traits (using the Autism Quotient, AQ) and schizotypy - as models of subclinical expressions of disease phenotypes and examined their association with volumes and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) of anterior, mid- and posterior hippocampus segments from structural MRI scans in 318 and arterial spin labelling (ASL) in 346 nonclinical subjects, which overlapped with the structural imaging sample (N = 298). We demonstrate significant interactive effects of positive schizotypy and AQ social skills as well as of positive schizotypy and AQ imagination on hippocampal subfield volume variation. Moreover, we show that AQ attention switching modulated hippocampal head rCBF, while positive schizotypy by AQ attention to detail interactions modulated hippocampal tail rCBF. In addition, we show significant correlation of hippocampal volume and rCBF in both region-of-interest and voxel-wise analyses, which were robust after removal of variance related to schizotypy and autistic traits. These findings provide empirical evidence for both the modulation of hippocampal subfield structure and function through subclinical traits, and in particular how only the interaction of phenotype facets leads to significant reductions or variations in these parameters. This makes a case for considering the synergistic impact of different (subclinical) disease spectra on transdiagnostic biological parameters in psychiatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Nenadić
- Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
- Center for Mind, Brain, and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany.
- Marburg University Hospital - UKGM, Marburg, Germany.
| | - Tina Meller
- Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain, and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Ulrika Evermann
- Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain, and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Julia-Katharina Pfarr
- Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain, and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Andrea Federspiel
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Walther
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Sarah Grezellschak
- Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain, and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
- Marburg University Hospital - UKGM, Marburg, Germany
| | - Ahmad Abu-Akel
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel
- The Haifa Brain and Behavior Hub, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel
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12
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Rządeczka M, Wodziński M, Moskalewicz M. Cognitive biases as an adaptive strategy in autism and schizophrenia spectrum: the compensation perspective on neurodiversity. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1291854. [PMID: 38116384 PMCID: PMC10729319 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1291854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
This article presents a novel theoretical perspective on the role of cognitive biases within the autism and schizophrenia spectrum by integrating the evolutionary and computational approaches. Against the background of neurodiversity, cognitive biases are presented as primary adaptive strategies, while the compensation of their shortcomings is a potential cognitive advantage. The article delineates how certain subtypes of autism represent a unique cognitive strategy to manage cognitive biases at the expense of rapid and frugal heuristics. In contrast, certain subtypes of schizophrenia emerge as distinctive cognitive strategies devised to navigate social interactions, albeit with a propensity for overdetecting intentional behaviors. In conclusion, the paper emphasizes that while extreme manifestations might appear non-functional, they are merely endpoints of a broader, primarily functional spectrum of cognitive strategies. The central argument hinges on the premise that cognitive biases in both autism and schizophrenia spectrums serve as compensatory mechanisms tailored for specific ecological niches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcin Rządeczka
- Institute of Philosophy, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin, Lublin, Poland
- IDEAS NCBR, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Marcin Moskalewicz
- Institute of Philosophy, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin, Lublin, Poland
- IDEAS NCBR, Warsaw, Poland
- Philosophy of Mental Health Unit, Department of Social Sciences and the Humanities, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland
- Phenomenological Psychopathology and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Clinic, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
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Costa-Cordella S, Soto-Icaza P, Borgeaud K, Grasso-Cladera A, Malberg NT. Towards a comprehensive approach to mentalization-based treatment for children with autism: integrating attachment, neurosciences, and mentalizing. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1259432. [PMID: 38098626 PMCID: PMC10719951 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1259432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is diagnosed based on socio-communicative difficulties, which are believed to result from deficits in mentalizing, mainly evidenced by alterations in recognizing and responding to the mental states of others. In recent years, efforts have been made to develop mentalization-based treatment (MBT) models for this population. These models focus on enhancing individuals' ability to understand and reflect on their own mental states, as well as those of others. However, MBT approaches for people with ASD are limited by their existing theoretical background, which lacks a strong foundation grounded in neuroscience-based evidence properly integrated with attachment, and mentalizing. These are crucial aspects for understanding psychological processes in autism, and as such, they play a pivotal role in shaping the development of tailored and effective therapeutic strategies for this specific population. In this paper we review evidence related to the neurobiological, interpersonal, and psychological dimensions of autism and their implications for mentalizing processes. We also review previous mentalization-based frameworks on the psychosis continuum to provide a comprehensive understanding of attachment, neurobiology, and mentalization domains in therapeutic approaches for autism. After presenting a synthesis of the literature, we offer a set of clinical strategies for the work with children with autism. Finally, we provide recommendations to advance the field towards more robust models that can serve as a basis for evidence-based therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanella Costa-Cordella
- Centro de Estudios en Psicología Clínica y Psicoterapia, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
- Centro de Estudios en Neurociencia y Neuropsicología Humana, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
- Millennium Institute for Depression and Personality Research (MIDAP), Santiago, Chile
| | - Patricia Soto-Icaza
- Laboratorio de Neurociencia Social y Neuromodulación (neuroCICS), Centro de Investigación en Complejidad Social (CICS), Facultad de Gobierno, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Aitana Grasso-Cladera
- Centro de Estudios en Neurociencia y Neuropsicología Humana, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
- Institute of Cognitive Science, Universität Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
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14
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Fan L, Springfield C, Klein H, Ackerman RA, Sasson NJ, Pinkham AE. Assessing the diametrical model of schizotypal and autistic traits in emotion recognition and social functioning in a community sample. Schizophr Res 2023; 261:194-202. [PMID: 37797360 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2023.09.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Some research suggests that schizotypal and autistic traits can produce opposing effects on the mentalizing domain of social cognition. Although such findings support a diametrical model proposing that psychotic and autistic traits represent opposite extremes of the social brain continuum, results from recent studies have been more inconsistent, and the applicability of this model to other social cognition domains remains unclear. To test the diametrical model more broadly, this study examined the interactions between schizotypal and autistic traits on emotion recognition and social functioning. METHOD A total of 791 participants recruited from the general population self-reported schizotypal traits using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief Revised (SPQ-BR) and autistic traits using the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ). Participants also completed the Emotion Recognition 40 task and the Specific Levels of Functioning (SLOF) scale. RESULTS The SPQ subscales of interpersonal relationships and disorganized symptoms interacted significantly with social BAP on overall emotion recognition performance and the accuracy of identifying neutral faces. Supporting the diametrical model, elevated levels of both schizotypal and autistic traits contributed to higher emotion recognition accuracy compared to elevations on only one trait. For social functioning, however, the diametrical model was not supported. A main effect was found such that higher interpersonal relationship difficulties on SPQ predicted lower work skills on SLOF, and higher levels of both schizotypal and autistic traits combined to produce even lower social functioning. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the diametrical model may be more relevant to social cognition than to social functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linlin Fan
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | - Cassi Springfield
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | - Hans Klein
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | - Robert A Ackerman
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | - Noah J Sasson
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | - Amy E Pinkham
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, TX, United States.
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15
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Eriksdotter M, Joutsimäki K, Johnsson P. Knowing me, knowing you: a scoping review assessing the current field of social cognition in schizophrenia. Nord J Psychiatry 2023; 77:627-640. [PMID: 37366305 DOI: 10.1080/08039488.2023.2226114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Impaired social cognition (SC) occurs frequently in schizophrenia (SCZ), yet compared to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the research on SC in SCZ is sparse and methodologically heterogeneous. To accurately assess between-group SC differences it is further necessary to establish the relationship between nonsocial cognition (NSC) and SC, particularly as this may not be identical across disorders. PURPOSE The present study aimed to map, index and assess the quality of research published between 2014-2021 investigating SC in SCZ, and to summarize existing limitations and recommendations for future research. METHOD Following the PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) fifteen (n = 15) case-control studies were identified and included across three electronic databases. Studies additionally utilizing ASD samples were included because of their clinical utility. RESULTS Most studies reported significant SC impairments in SCZ relative to healthy controls (HC) with varying effect sizes. Significant differences between SCZ and ASD were not found in most studies including both samples. Weak-to-moderate correlations between SC and NSC were often found, although often only within patient samples. Across studies, SC tests were inconsistently described as measurements of "social cognition", "mentalization" and, most frequently and varyingly, "theory of mind". Most studies lacked methodological transparency. Limitations related to sample sizes and test reliability were most frequently mentioned. CONCLUSIONS The current research on SC in SCZ is limited by conceptual and methodological uncertainties. Future research should focus on ensuring clear and valid definitions of key terms, evaluating and clarifying SC outcome measures and further untangling the relationship between SC and NSC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Per Johnsson
- Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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16
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Kanellopoulos AK, Costello S, Mainardi F, Koshibu K, Deoni S, Schneider N. Dynamic Interplay between Social Brain Development and Nutrient Intake in Young Children. Nutrients 2023; 15:3754. [PMID: 37686785 PMCID: PMC10490067 DOI: 10.3390/nu15173754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Myelination of the brain structures underlying social behavior in humans is a dynamic process that parallels the emergence of social-emotional development and social skills in early life. Of the many genetic and environmental factors regulating the myelination processes, nutrition is considered as a critical and modifiable early-life factor for establishing healthy social brain networks. However, the impact of nutrition on the longitudinal development of social brain myelination remains to be fully understood. This study examined the interplay between childhood nutrient intake and social brain development across the first 5 years of life. Myelin-sensitive neuroimaging and food-intake data were analyzed in 293 children, 0.5 to 5 years of age, and explored for dynamic patterns of nutrient-social brain myelin associations. We found three data-driven age windows with specific nutrient correlation patterns, 63 individual nutrient-myelin correlations, and six nutrient combinations with a statistically significant predictive value for social brain myelination. These results provide novel insights into the impact of specific nutrient intakes on early brain development, in particular social brain regions, and suggest a critical age-sensitive opportunity to impact these brain regions for potential longer-term improvements in socio-emotional development and related executive-function and critical-thinking skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandros K. Kanellopoulos
- Brain Health Department, Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Société des Produits Nestlé SA, Vers-Chez-les-Blanc, 1000 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sarah Costello
- Brain Health Department, Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Société des Produits Nestlé SA, Vers-Chez-les-Blanc, 1000 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Fabio Mainardi
- Data Science Group, Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Société des Produits Nestlé SA, Vers-Chez-les-Blanc, 1000 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Kyoko Koshibu
- Brain Health Department, Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Société des Produits Nestlé SA, Vers-Chez-les-Blanc, 1000 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sean Deoni
- Advanced Baby Imaging Lab, Rhode Island Hospital, 1 Hoppin Street, Providence, RI 20903, USA
- Department of Radiology, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 222 Richmond St., Providence, RI 02912, USA
- Spinn Neuroscience, Seattle, WA 98275, USA
| | - Nora Schneider
- Brain Health Department, Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Société des Produits Nestlé SA, Vers-Chez-les-Blanc, 1000 Lausanne, Switzerland
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17
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Garner JP, Talbot CF, Del Rosso LA, McCowan B, Kanthaswamy S, Haig D, Capitanio JP, Parker KJ. Rhesus macaque social functioning is paternally, but not maternally, inherited by sons: potential implications for autism. Mol Autism 2023; 14:25. [PMID: 37480043 PMCID: PMC10360241 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-023-00556-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Quantitative autistic traits are common, heritable, and continuously distributed across the general human population. Patterns of autistic traits within families suggest that more complex mechanisms than simple Mendelian inheritance-in particular, parent of origin effects-may be involved. The ideal strategy for ascertaining parent of origin effects is by half-sibling analysis, where half-siblings share one, but not both, parents and each individual belongs to a unique combination of paternal and maternal half-siblings. While this family structure is rare in humans, many of our primate relatives, including rhesus macaques, have promiscuous breeding systems that consistently produce paternal and maternal half-siblings for a given index animal. Rhesus macaques, like humans, also exhibit pronounced variation in social functioning. METHODS Here we assessed differential paternal versus maternal inheritance of social functioning in male rhesus macaque offspring (N = 407) using ethological observations and ratings on a reverse-translated quantitative autistic trait measurement scale. Restricted Maximum Likelihood mixed models with unbounded variance estimates were used to estimate the variance components needed to calculate the genetic contribution of parents as the proportion of phenotypic variance (σ2P) between sons that could uniquely be attributed to their shared genetics (σ2g), expressed as σ2g/σ2P (or the proportion of phenotypic variance attributable to genetic variance), as well as narrow sense heritability (h2). RESULTS Genetic contributions and heritability estimates were strong and highly significant for sons who shared a father but weak and non-significant for sons who shared a mother. Importantly, these findings were detected using the same scores from the same sons in the same analysis, confirmed when paternal and maternal half-siblings were analyzed separately, and observed with two methodologically distinct behavioral measures. Finally, genetic contributions were similar for full-siblings versus half-siblings that shared only a father, further supporting a selective paternal inheritance effect. LIMITATIONS These data are correlational by nature. A larger sample that includes female subjects, enables deeper pedigree assessments, and supports molecular genetic analyses is warranted. CONCLUSIONS Rhesus macaque social functioning may be paternally, but not maternally, inherited by sons. With continued investigation, this approach may yield important insights into sex differences in autism's genetic liability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph P. Garner
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive, Edwards R348, Stanford, CA 94305-5342 USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 1201 Welch Road, MSLS, P-104, Stanford, CA 94305-5485 USA
| | - Catherine F. Talbot
- California National Primate Research Center, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 USA
- Department of Psychology, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 W. University Blvd., Melbourne, FL 32901 USA
| | - Laura A. Del Rosso
- California National Primate Research Center, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Brenda McCowan
- California National Primate Research Center, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 USA
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, 4205 VM3B, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Sreetharan Kanthaswamy
- California National Primate Research Center, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 USA
- School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Arizona State University West Campus, 4701 W. Thunderbird Rd., Glendale, AZ 85306 USA
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
| | - John P. Capitanio
- California National Primate Research Center, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Karen J. Parker
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive, Edwards R348, Stanford, CA 94305-5342 USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 1201 Welch Road, MSLS, P-104, Stanford, CA 94305-5485 USA
- California National Primate Research Center, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 USA
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18
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Dinatolo MF, Pur DR, Eagleson R, de Ribaupierre S. The Role of Blood Oxygen Level Dependent Signal Variability in Pediatric Neuroscience: A Systematic Review. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:1587. [PMID: 37511962 PMCID: PMC10382051 DOI: 10.3390/life13071587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND As pediatric BOLD Signal Variability (SV) analysis is relatively novel, there is a need to provide a foundational framework that gives researchers an entry point into engaging with the topic. This begins with clarifying the definition of BOLD signal variability by identifying and categorizing the various metrics utilized to measure BOLD SV. METHODS A systematic review of the literature was conducted. Inclusion criteria were restricted to studies utilizing any metric of BOLD SV and with individuals younger than 18 in the study population. The definition of BOLD SV was any measure of intra-individual variability in the BOLD signal. Five databases were searched: Psychinfo, Healthstar, MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus. RESULTS A total of 17 observational studies, including male (n = 1796) and female (n = 1324) pediatric participants were included. Eight studies quantified variability as the amount of deviation from the average BOLD signal, seven used complexity-based metrics, three used correlation measures of variability, and one used the structure of the hemodynamic response function. In this study, 10 methods of quantifying signal variability were identified. Associations and trends in BOLD SV were commonly found with age, factors specific to mental and/or neurological disorders such as attention deficit disorder, epilepsy, psychotic symptoms, and performance on psychological and behavioral tasks. CONCLUSIONS BOLD SV is a potential biomarker of neurodevelopmental and neurological conditions and symptom severity in mental disorders for defined pediatric populations. Studies that establish clinical trends and identify the mechanisms underlying BOLD SV with a low risk of bias are needed before clinical applications can be utilized by physicians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael F Dinatolo
- Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada
| | - Daiana Roxana Pur
- Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada
| | - Roy Eagleson
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Sandrine de Ribaupierre
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
- Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada
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Scala M, Biondi L, Serretti A, Fabbri C. Obsessive-Compulsive, Psychotic, and Autism Dimensions Overlap in Real World: A Case Report. Clin Neuropharmacol 2023; Publish Ahead of Print:00002826-990000000-00054. [PMID: 37367203 DOI: 10.1097/wnf.0000000000000561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Obsessions, compulsions, and stereotypes are common psychopathological manifestations of obsessive-compulsive, psychotic, and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). These nosological entities may be present in comorbidity, with relevant clinical difficulties in the differential diagnosis process. Moreover, ASDs are a complex group of disorders, with a childhood onset, which also persist into adulthood and present heterogeneous symptom patterns that could be confused with psychotic disorders. METHODS AND RESULTS We report a case of a 21-year-old man characterized by sexual and doubt obsessions; disorganized, bizarre, and stereotyped behaviors and compulsions; and social withdrawal, inadequate social skills, visual dispersions, and hypersensitivity to light stimuli. Obsessive and compulsive features were initially included within the differential diagnosis of psychotic and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. However, aforementioned psychopathological elements did not improve when multiple antipsychotic drugs (olanzapine, haloperidol, and lurasidone) were administered in the hypothesis of schizophrenia and even worsened with clozapine therapy at a dose of 100 mg/d. Obsessions and compulsions progressively reduced during the fluvoxamine 14-week treatment paradigm at a dose of 200 mg/d. Considering the persistent deficits in social communication and interactions as well as the restricted interests pattern, a differential diagnostic hypothesis of ASD was formulated, and it was then confirmed at the final evaluation at a third-level health care center. CONCLUSIONS We discuss similarities and differences in the psychopathology of obsessions, compulsions, and stereotypes in the previously mentioned disorders, to underline factors that can help in the differential diagnosis of similar cases, and consequently in the appropriateness of treatment choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Scala
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy
| | - Laura Biondi
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy
| | - Alessandro Serretti
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy
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20
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Parvaiz R, Vindbjerg E, Crespi B, Happe F, Schalbroeck R, Al-Sayegh Z, Danielsen IM, Tonge B, Videbech P, Abu-Akel A. Protocol for the development and testing of the schiZotypy Autism Questionnaire (ZAQ) in adults: a new screening tool to discriminate autism spectrum disorder from schizotypal disorder. BMC Psychiatry 2023; 23:200. [PMID: 36978026 PMCID: PMC10044373 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-04690-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizotypal disorder (SD) both have a heterogenous presentation, with significant overlaps in symptoms and behaviour. Due to elevated recognition and knowledge of ASD worldwide, there is a growing rate of referrals from primary health professionals to specialised units. At all levels of assessment, the differential diagnostic considerations between ASD and SD exert major challenges for clinicians. Although several validated screening questionnaires exist for ASD and SD, none have differential diagnostic properties. Accordingly, in this study, we aim to develop a new screening questionnaire, the schiZotypy Autism Questionnaire (ZAQ), which provides a combined screening for both conditions, while also indicating the relative likelihood of each. METHODS We aim to test 200 autistic patients and 100 schizotypy patients recruited from specialised psychiatric clinics and 200 controls from the general population (Phase 1). The results from ZAQ will be compared to the clinical diagnoses from interdisciplinary teams at specialised psychiatric clinics. After this initial testing phase, the ZAQ will be validated in an independent sample (Phase 2). CONCLUSIONS The aim of the study is to investigate the discriminative properties (ASD vs. SD), diagnostic accuracy, and validity of the schiZotypy Autism Questionnaire (ZAQ). FUNDING Funding was provided by Psychiatric Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen Denmark, Sofiefonden (Grant number: FID4107425), Trygfonden (Grant number:153588), Takeda Pharma. TRIAL REGISTRATION Clinical Trials, NCT05213286, Registered 28 January 2022, clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05213286?cond = RAADS&draw = 2&rank = 1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rizwan Parvaiz
- Department of ADHD and Autism, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Erik Vindbjerg
- Competence Centre for Transcultural Psychiatry, Mental Health Centre Ballerup, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Bernard Crespi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Francesca Happe
- Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Rik Schalbroeck
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Zainab Al-Sayegh
- Department of ADHD and Autism, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ida-Marie Danielsen
- Department of ADHD and Autism, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Bruce Tonge
- Centre for Developmental Psychiatry and Psychology, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Poul Videbech
- Center for Neuropsykiatrisk Depressionsforskning Psykiatrisk Center Glostrup, Nordstjernevej 41, Glostrup, Copenhagen, 2600, Denmark
| | - Ahmad Abu-Akel
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, 3498838, Haifa, Israel
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21
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Misdiagnosis of Psychosis and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in a Young Patient with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Case Rep Psychiatry 2023; 2023:7705913. [PMID: 36824478 PMCID: PMC9943599 DOI: 10.1155/2023/7705913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction and the presence of restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior. Making a first diagnosis of ASD in adults has certain difficulties, including inaccurate recall of developmental history and overlapping behaviors with other psychiatric conditions. This case study presents a young man who was assessed to have no major mental illness during his first visit to emergency services in a psychiatric hospital. During his second visit, he was initially assessed to have first episode psychosis, due to his possible delusional beliefs related to the insurance payout, social withdrawal, and strange behaviors, and then later he was assessed to have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) instead of psychosis, because of his recurrent and intrusive thoughts. Eventually, his diagnosis was revised to ASD during outpatient follow-up after more comprehensive assessment. It is not easy to differentiate ASD from psychosis among some adult patients, even for expert psychiatrists. Cognitive rigidity in ASD may be similar to delusions in psychosis. Unusual behaviors in ASD can be confused with disorganized behaviors in psychosis. Differentiating ASD from OCD can be a complicated task as well, due to similarities between ASD and OCD. Restricted interests and repetitive behaviors in ASD may be perceived as obsessions and compulsions in OCD. Overall, diagnosis of ASD in adults requires comprehensive evaluation. Distinguishing symptoms of OCD and psychosis from autistic traits is critical for accurate diagnosis and optimal treatment. Although research in adult ASD has expanded alongside increased prevalence statistics over the past few years, more efforts to enhance the diagnostic processes in adult ASD are needed to reduce the challenges in this field.
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Benítez-Burraco A, Adornetti I, Ferretti F, Progovac L. An evolutionary account of impairment of self in cognitive disorders. Cogn Process 2023; 24:107-127. [PMID: 36180662 PMCID: PMC9898376 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-022-01110-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Recent research has proposed that certain aspects of psychosis, as experienced in, e.g., schizophrenia (SCZ), but also aspects of other cognitive conditions, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and synesthesia, can be related to a shattered sense of the notion of self. In this paper, our goal is to show that altered processing of self can be attributed to an abnormal functioning of cortico-striatal brain networks supporting, among other, one key human distinctive cognitive ability, namely cross-modality, which plays multiple roles in human cognition and language. Specifically, our hypothesis is that this cognitive mechanism sheds light both on some basic aspects of the minimal self and on some aspects related to higher forms of self, such as the narrative self. We further link the atypical functioning in these conditions to some recent evolutionary changes in our species, specifically, an atypical presentation of human self-domestication (HSD) features. In doing so, we also lean on previous work concerning the link between cognitive disorders and language evolution under the effects of HSD. We further show that this approach can unify both linguistic and non-linguistic symptoms of these conditions through deficits in the notion of self. Our considerations provide further support for the hypothesis that SCZ and ASD are diametrically opposed cognitive conditions, as well for the hypothesis that their etiology is associated with recent human evolution, leading to a deeper understanding of the causes and symptoms of these disorders, and providing new cues, which can be used for an earlier and more accurate diagnostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Benítez-Burraco
- Department of Spanish, Linguistics, and Theory of Literature (Linguistics), Faculty of Philology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain.
| | - Ines Adornetti
- Cosmic Lab, Department of Philosophy, Communication and Performing Arts, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Ferretti
- Cosmic Lab, Department of Philosophy, Communication and Performing Arts, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
| | - Ljiljana Progovac
- Linguistics Program, Department of English, Wayne State University, Detroit, USA
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23
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Abstract
The field of psychopathology is in a transformative phase, and is witnessing a renewed surge of interest in theoretical models of mental disorders. While many interesting proposals are competing for attention in the literature, they tend to focus narrowly on the proximate level of analysis and lack a broader understanding of biological function. In this paper, we present an integrative framework for mental disorders built on concepts from life history theory, and describe a taxonomy of mental disorders based on its principles, the fast-slow-defense model (FSD). The FSD integrates psychopathology with normative individual differences in personality and behavior, and allows researchers to draw principled distinctions between broad clusters of disorders, as well as identify functional subtypes within current diagnostic categories. Simulation work demonstrates that the model can explain the large-scale structure of comorbidity, including the apparent emergence of a general "p factor" of psychopathology. A life history approach also provides novel integrative insights into the role of environmental risk/protective factors and the developmental trajectories of various disorders.
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Ryan NM, Heron EA. Evidence for parent-of-origin effects in autism spectrum disorder: a narrative review. J Appl Genet 2023; 64:303-317. [PMID: 36710277 PMCID: PMC10076404 DOI: 10.1007/s13353-022-00742-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous group of early-onset neurodevelopmental disorders known to be highly heritable with a complex genetic architecture. Abnormal brain developmental trajectories that impact synaptic functioning, excitation-inhibition balance and brain connectivity are now understood to play a central role in ASD. Ongoing efforts to identify the genetic underpinnings still prove challenging, in part due to phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity.This review focuses on parent-of-origin effects (POEs), where the phenotypic effect of an allele depends on its parental origin. POEs include genomic imprinting, transgenerational effects, mitochondrial DNA, sex chromosomes and mutational transmission bias. The motivation for investigating these mechanisms in ASD has been driven by their known impacts on early brain development and brain functioning, in particular for the most well-documented POE, genomic imprinting. Moreover, imprinting is implicated in syndromes such as Angelman and Prader-Willi, which frequently share comorbid symptoms with ASD. In addition to other regions in the genome, this comprehensive review highlights the 15q11-q13 and 7q chromosomal regions as well as the mitochondrial DNA as harbouring the majority of currently identified POEs in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niamh M Ryan
- Neuropsychiatric Genetics Research Group, Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Elizabeth A Heron
- Neuropsychiatric Genetics Research Group, Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
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Fiksinski AM, Hoftman GD, Vorstman JAS, Bearden CE. A genetics-first approach to understanding autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorders: the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:341-353. [PMID: 36192458 PMCID: PMC9812786 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01783-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Recently, increasing numbers of rare pathogenic genetic variants have been identified that are associated with variably elevated risks of a range of neurodevelopmental outcomes, notably including Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (SSD), and Intellectual Disability (ID). This review is organized along three main questions: First, how can we unify the exclusively descriptive basis of our current psychiatric diagnostic classification system with the recognition of an identifiable, highly penetrant genetic risk factor in an increasing proportion of patients with ASD or SSD? Second, what can be learned from studies of individuals with ASD or SSD who share a common genetic basis? And third, what accounts for the observed variable penetrance and pleiotropy of neuropsychiatric phenotypes in individuals with the same pathogenic variant? In this review, we focus on findings of clinical and preclinical studies of the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS). This particular variant is not only one of the most common among the increasing list of known rare pathogenic variants, but also one that benefits from a relatively long research history. Consequently, 22q11DS is an appealing model as it allows us to: (1) elucidate specific genotype-phenotype associations, (2) prospectively study behaviorally defined classifications, such as ASD or SSD, in the context of a known, well-characterized genetic basis, and (3) elucidate mechanisms underpinning variable penetrance and pleiotropy, phenomena with far-reaching ramifications for research and clinical practice. We discuss how findings from animal and in vitro studies relate to observations in human studies and can help elucidate factors, including genetic, environmental, and stochastic, that impact the expression of neuropsychiatric phenotypes in 22q11DS, and how this may inform mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental expression in the general population. We conclude with research priorities for the field, which may pave the way for novel therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ania M Fiksinski
- Department of Psychology and Department of Pediatrics, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Division of Mental Health, MHeNS, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Gil D Hoftman
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jacob A S Vorstman
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, Research Institute, and Department of Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Carrie E Bearden
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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26
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Del Giudice M. A general motivational architecture for human and animal personality. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 144:104967. [PMID: 36410556 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2022] [Revised: 11/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
To achieve integration in the study of personality, researchers need to model the motivational processes that give rise to stable individual differences in behavior, cognition, and emotion. The missing link in current approaches is a motivational architecture-a description of the core set of mechanisms that underlie motivation, plus a functional account of their operating logic and inter-relations. This paper presents the initial version of such an architecture, the General Architecture of Motivation (GAM). The GAM offers a common language for individual differences in humans and other animals, and a conceptual toolkit for building species-specific models of personality. The paper describes the main components of the GAM and their interplay, and examines the contribution of these components to the emergence of individual differences. The final section discusses how the GAM can be used to construct explicit functional models of personality, and presents a roadmap for future research.
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27
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Sarovic D. Commentary: Autism: A model of neurodevelopmental diversity informed by genomics. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1113592. [PMID: 36761863 PMCID: PMC9902494 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1113592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Darko Sarovic
- Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States.,Department of Radiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.,MedTech West, Gothenburg, Sweden
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28
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Salminen I, Read S, Crespi B. Do the diverse phenotypes of Prader-Willi syndrome reflect extremes of covariation in typical populations? Front Genet 2022; 13:1041943. [PMID: 36506301 PMCID: PMC9731222 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.1041943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The phenotypes of human imprinted neurogenetic disorders can be hypothesized as extreme alterations of typical human phenotypes. The imprinted neurogenetic disorder Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) features covarying phenotypes that centrally involve altered social behaviors, attachment, mood, circadian rhythms, and eating habits, that can be traced to altered functioning of the hypothalamus. Here, we conducted analyses to investigate the extent to which the behavioral variation shown in typical human populations for a set of PWAS-associated traits including autism spectrum cognition, schizotypal cognition, mood, eating, and sleeping phenotypes shows covariability that recapitulates the covariation observed in individuals with PWS. To this end, we collected data from 296 typical individuals for this set of phenotypes, and showed, using principal components analysis, evidence of a major axis reflecting key covarying PWS traits. We also reviewed the literature regarding neurogenetic syndromes that overlap in their affected traits with PWS, to determine their prevalence and properties. These findings demonstrate that a notable suite of syndromes shows phenotypic overlap with PWS, implicating a large set of imprinted and non-imprinted genes, some of which interact, in the phenotypes of this disorder. Considered together, these findings link variation in and among neurogenetic disorders with variation in typical populations, especially with regard to pleiotropic effects mediated by the hypothalamus. This work also implicates effects of imprinted gene variation on cognition and behavior in typical human populations.
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Lisøy RS, Biegler R, Haghish EF, Veckenstedt R, Moritz S, Pfuhl G. Seeing minds - a signal detection study of agency attribution along the autism-psychosis continuum. Cogn Neuropsychiatry 2022; 27:356-372. [PMID: 35579601 DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2022.2075721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Diametrically aberrant mentalising biases, namely hypermentalising in psychosis and hypomentalising in autism, are postulated by some theoretical models. To test this hypothesis, we measured psychotic-like experiences, autistic traits and mentalising biases in a visual chasing paradigm. METHODS Participants from the general population (N = 300) and psychotic patients (N=26) judged the absence or presence of a chase during five-second long displays of seemingly randomly moving dots. Hypermentalising is seeing a chase where there is none, whereas hypomentalising is missing to see a chase. RESULTS Psychotic-like experiences were associated with hypermentalising. Autistic traits were not associated with hypomentalising, but with a reduced ability to discriminate chasing from non-chasing trials. Given the high correlation (τ = .41) between autistic traits and psychotic-like experiences, we controlled for concomitant symptom severity on agency detection. We found that all but those with many autistic and psychotic traits showed hypomentalising, suggesting an additive effect of traits on mentalising. In the second study, we found no hypermentalising in patients with psychosis, who performed also similarly to a matched control group. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that hypermentalising is a cognitive bias restricted to subclinical psychotic-like experiences. There was no support for a diametrically opposite mentalising bias along the autism-psychosis continuum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebekka Solvik Lisøy
- Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Robert Biegler
- Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | | | - Ruth Veckenstedt
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Steffen Moritz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Gerit Pfuhl
- Department of Psychology, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Tromso, Norway
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Nibbio G, Barlati S, Calzavara-Pinton I, Necchini N, Invernizzi E, Dell'Ovo D, Lisoni J, Deste G, Vita A. Assessment and correlates of autistic symptoms in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders measured with the PANSS Autism Severity Score: A systematic review. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:934005. [PMID: 36111306 PMCID: PMC9468543 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.934005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (SSD) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are considered separate entities, but the two spectra share important similarities, and the study of these areas of overlap represents a field of growing scientific interest. The PANSS Autism Score (PAUSS) was recently developed specifically to assess autistic symptoms in people living with SSD reliably and quickly. The aims of the present systematic review were to provide a comprehensive assessment of the use of the PAUSS scale in available literature and to systematically analyze cognitive, functional and neurobiological correlates of autistic symptoms measured with this instrument in SSD. The systematic literature search included three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus and PsycINFO) as well as a manual search in Google Scholar and in reference lists of included papers. Screening and extraction were conducted by at least two independent reviewers. Out of 213 identified records, 22 articles referring to 15 original studies were included in the systematic review. Studies were conducted in several different countries by independent groups, showing consistent scientific interest in the use of the scale; most works focused on cognitive and functional correlates of ASD symptoms, but some also considered neurobiological features. Results of included studies showed that autistic symptoms in people with SSD are consistently associated with worse cognitive performance, especially in the social cognition domain, and with worse psychosocial functioning. However, the presence of autistic symptoms appears to also have a protective role, particularly on functioning, in subjects with more severe psychotic symptoms. Further exploring the impact of autistic symptoms could be of significant scientific and clinical interest, allowing the development of tailored interventions to improve treatment for people living with SSDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele Nibbio
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Stefano Barlati
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
- Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | | | - Nicola Necchini
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Elena Invernizzi
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Dario Dell'Ovo
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Jacopo Lisoni
- Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Giacomo Deste
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
- Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Antonio Vita
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
- Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
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Abstract
I suggest that the current study of autism is problematic, due to: (1) its failure to pursue a medical model of disease causation, with protocols for differential diagnoses of causes; (2) a notable incidence of unrecognized false positive diagnoses in children; (3) the conceptual equating of autism with sets of traits that have been shown to be genetically and phenotypically unrelated to one another; and (4) the expansion of use of the terms "autism" and "autism traits" to psychiatric conditions that have no substantive etiological or symptomatic overlap with autism. These problems can be alleviated by, like Kanner, considering autism as a syndrome, a constellation of traits, conceptualized as differences rather than deficits, some set of which is found in each affected individual to some degree. The original, prototypical form of autism can be delineated based on the "hallmarks" of autism: a set of core traits, originally explicated by Kanner, that defines a relatively-homogeneous group, and that connects with the larger set of autism symptoms. The hallmarks of autism provide a touchstone for research that is unambiguous, historically continuous to the present, and linked with major theories for explaining the causes and symptoms of autism. Use of the hallmarks of autism does not impact recognition and treatment of individuals with DSM diagnosed autism, or individuals with the many disorders that involve social deficits. This perspective is compatible with the research domain criteria approach to studying autism, via analyses of autism's constituent traits and the differential diagnosis of its individual-specific causes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernard J. Crespi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
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32
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Andersen BP. Autistic-Like Traits and Positive Schizotypy as Diametric Specializations of the Predictive Mind. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2022; 17:1653-1672. [PMID: 35816687 DOI: 10.1177/17456916221075252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
According to the predictive-processing framework, only prediction errors (rather than all sensory inputs) are processed by an organism's perceptual system. Prediction errors can be weighted such that errors from more reliable sources will be more influential in updating prior beliefs. It has previously been argued that autism-spectrum conditions can be understood as resulting from a predictive-processing mechanism in which an inflexibly high weight is given to sensory-prediction errors that results in overfitting their predictive models to the world. Deficits in executive functioning, theory of mind, and central coherence are all argued to flow naturally from this core underlying mechanism. The diametric model of autism and psychosis suggests a simple extension of this hypothesis. If people on the autism spectrum give an inflexibly high weight to sensory input, could it be that people with a predisposition to psychosis (i.e., people high in positive schizotypy) give an inflexibly low weight to sensory input? In this article I argue that evidence strongly supports this hypothesis. An inflexibly low weight given to sensory input can explain such disparate features of positive schizotypy as increased exploratory behavior, apophenia, hyper theory of mind, hyperactive imagination, attentional differences, and having idiosyncratic worldviews.
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33
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Perrykkad K, Hohwy J. How selves differ within and across cognitive domains: self-prioritisation, self-concept, and psychiatric traits. BMC Psychol 2022; 10:165. [PMID: 35773737 PMCID: PMC9248136 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-022-00870-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Background How we build and maintain representations of ourselves involves both explicit features which are consciously accessible on reflection and implicit processes which are not, such as attentional biases. Understanding relations between different ways of measuring self-cognition both within and across such cognitive domains is important for understanding how selves may differ from one another, and whether self-cognition is best understood as largely uni-dimensional or more multi-dimensional. Further, uncovering this structure should inform research around how self-cognition relates to psychiatric and psychological conditions. This study explores the relations between different constructs of self-cognition and how variability within them relates to psychiatric traits.
Methods Our final dataset includes within-subject (n = 288, general population) measures of explicit self-concept (using both the Self Concept Clarity Scale and Self Concept and Identity Measure), implicit self-prioritisation in a shape-label matching task (for both reaction time and sensitivity) and measurement of traits for five psychiatric conditions (autism, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, depression and anxiety). We first test whether self-cognitive measures within and across domains are correlated within individuals. We then test whether these dimensions of self-cognition support a binary distinction between psychiatric conditions that either are or are not characterised in terms of self, or whether they support self-cognition as transdiagnostically predictive of the traits associated with psychiatric conditions. To do this we run a series of planned correlations, regressions, and direct correlation comparison statistics. Results Results show that implicit self-prioritisation measures were not correlated with the explicit self-concept measures nor the psychiatric trait measures. In contrast, all the psychiatric traits scores were predicted, to varying degrees, by poorer explicit self-concept quality. Specifically, borderline personality disorder traits were significantly more strongly associated with composite explicit self-concept measures than any of depression, anxiety, or autism traits scores were. Conclusions Our results suggest that selves can differ considerably, along different cognitive dimensions. Further, our results show that self-cognition may be a promising feature to include in future dimensional characterisations of psychiatric conditions, but care should be taken to choose relevant self-cognitive domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelsey Perrykkad
- Cognition and Philosophy Lab, Philosophy Department, School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies, Monash University, 29 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia.
| | - Jakob Hohwy
- Cognition and Philosophy Lab, Philosophy Department, School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies, Monash University, 29 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia.,Monash Centre for Consciousness & Contemplative Studies, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
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Kramer P. Iconic Mathematics: Math Designed to Suit the Mind. Front Psychol 2022; 13:890362. [PMID: 35769758 PMCID: PMC9234488 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.890362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Mathematics is a struggle for many. To make it more accessible, behavioral and educational scientists are redesigning how it is taught. To a similar end, a few rogue mathematicians and computer scientists are doing something more radical: they are redesigning mathematics itself, improving its ergonomic features. Charles Peirce, an important contributor to ordinary symbolic logic, also introduced a rigorous but non-symbolic, graphical alternative to it that is easier to picture. In the spirit of this iconic logic, George Spencer-Brown founded iconic mathematics. Performing iconic arithmetic, algebra, and even trigonometry, resembles doing calculations on an abacus, which is still popular in education today, has aided humanity for millennia, helps even when it is merely imagined, and ameliorates severe disability in basic computation. Interestingly, whereas some intellectually disabled individuals excel in very complex numerical tasks, others of normal intelligence fail even in very simple ones. A comparison of their wider psychological profiles suggests that iconic mathematics ought to suit the very people traditional mathematics leaves behind.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Kramer
- *Correspondence: Peter Kramer, ; orcid.org/0000-0003-4807-7077
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35
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Hunt AD, Jaeggi AV. Specialised minds: extending adaptive explanations of personality to the evolution of psychopathology. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2022; 4:e26. [PMID: 37588937 PMCID: PMC10426115 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2022.23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Traditional evolutionary theory invoked natural and sexual selection to explain species- and sex-typical traits. However, some heritable inter-individual variability in behaviour and psychology - personality - is probably adaptive. Here we extend this insight to common psychopathological traits. Reviewing key findings from three background areas of importance - theoretical models, non-human personality and evolved human social dynamics - we propose that a combination of social niche specialisation, negative frequency-dependency, balancing selection and adaptive developmental plasticity should explain adaptation for individual differences in psychology - 'specialised minds' - explaining some variance in personality and psychopathology trait dimensions, which share various characteristics. We suggest that anthropological research of behavioural differences should be extended past broad demographic factors (age and sex) to include individual specialisations. As a first step towards grounding psychopathology in ancestral social structure, we propose a minimum plausible prevalence, given likely ancestral group sizes, for negatively frequency-dependent phenotypes to be maintained as specialised tails of adaptive distributions - below the calculated prevalence, specialisation is highly unlikely. For instance, chronic highly debilitating forms of autism or schizophrenia are too rare for such explanations, whereas attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder and broad autism phenotypes are common enough to have existed in most hunter-gatherer bands, making adaptive explanations more plausible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam D. Hunt
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Adrian V. Jaeggi
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich, Switzerland
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36
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Isles AR. The contribution of imprinted genes to neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:210. [PMID: 35597773 PMCID: PMC9124202 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-01972-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Imprinted genes are a subset of mammalian genes that are subject to germline parent-specific epigenetic modifications leading monoallelic expression. Imprinted gene expression is particularly prevalent in the brain and it is unsurprising that mutations affecting their expression can lead to neurodevelopmental and/or neuropsychiatric disorders in humans. Here I review the evidence for this, detailing key neurodevelopmental disorders linked to imprinted gene clusters on human chromosomes 15q11-q13 and 14q32, highlighting genes and possible regulatory links between these different syndromes. Similarly, rare copy number variant mutations at imprinted clusters also provide strong links between abnormal imprinted gene expression and the predisposition to severe psychiatric illness. In addition to direct links between brain-expressed imprinted genes and neurodevelopmental and/or neuropsychiatric disorders, I outline how imprinted genes that are expressed in another tissue hotspot, the placenta, contribute indirectly to abnormal brain and behaviour. Specifically, altered nutrient provisioning or endocrine signalling by the placenta caused by abnormal expression of imprinted genes may lead to increased prevalence of neurodevelopmental and/or neuropsychiatric problems in both the offspring and the mother.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony R. Isles
- grid.5600.30000 0001 0807 5670MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ UK
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37
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Combining fMRI and DISC1 gene haplotypes to understand working memory-related brain activity in schizophrenia. Sci Rep 2022; 12:7351. [PMID: 35513527 PMCID: PMC9072540 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10660-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The DISC1 gene is one of the most relevant susceptibility genes for psychosis. However, the complex genetic landscape of this locus, which includes protective and risk variants in interaction, may have hindered consistent conclusions on how DISC1 contributes to schizophrenia (SZ) liability. Analysis from haplotype approaches and brain-based phenotypes can contribute to understanding DISC1 role in the neurobiology of this disorder. We assessed the brain correlates of DISC1 haplotypes associated with SZ through a functional neuroimaging genetics approach. First, we tested the association of two DISC1 haplotypes, the HEP1 (rs6675281-1000731-rs999710) and the HEP3 (rs151229-rs3738401), with the risk for SZ in a sample of 138 healthy subjects (HS) and 238 patients. This approach allowed the identification of three haplotypes associated with SZ (HEP1-CTG, HEP3-GA and HEP3-AA). Second, we explored whether these haplotypes exerted differential effects on n-back associated brain activity in a subsample of 70 HS compared to 70 patients (diagnosis × haplotype interaction effect). These analyses evidenced that HEP3-GA and HEP3-AA modulated working memory functional response conditional to the health/disease status in the cuneus, precuneus, middle cingulate cortex and the ventrolateral and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. Our results are the first to show a diagnosis-based effect of DISC1 haplotypes on working memory-related brain activity, emphasising its role in SZ.
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38
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Colizzi M, Bortoletto R, Costa R, Bhattacharyya S, Balestrieri M. The Autism-Psychosis Continuum Conundrum: Exploring the Role of the Endocannabinoid System. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:5616. [PMID: 35565034 PMCID: PMC9105053 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19095616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Evidence indicates shared physiopathological mechanisms between autism and psychosis. In this regard, the endocannabinoid system has been suggested to modulate neural circuits during the early stage of neurodevelopment, with implications for both autism and psychosis. Nevertheless, such potential common markers of disease have been investigated in both autism and psychosis spectrum disorders, without considering the conundrum of differentiating the two groups of conditions in terms of diagnosis and treatment. Here, we systematically review all human and animal studies examining the endocannabinoid system and its biobehavioral correlates in the association between autism and psychosis. Studies indicate overlapping biobehavioral aberrancies between autism and schizophrenia, subject to correction by modulation of the endocannabinoid system. In addition, common cannabinoid-based pharmacological strategies have been identified, exerting epigenetic effects across genes controlling neural mechanisms shared between autism and schizophrenia. Interestingly, a developmental and transgenerational trajectory between autism and schizophrenia is supported by evidence that exogenous alteration of the endocannabinoid system promotes progression to inheritable psychosis phenotypes in the context of biobehavioral autism vulnerability. However, evidence for a diametral association between autism and psychosis is scant. Several clinical implications follow from evidence of a developmental continuum between autism and psychosis as a function of the endocannabinoid system dysregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Colizzi
- Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy;
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK;
| | - Riccardo Bortoletto
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Maternal-Child Integrated Care Department, Integrated University Hospital of Verona, 37126 Verona, Italy;
| | - Rosalia Costa
- Community Mental Health Team, Friuli Centrale University Health Service (ASUFC), 33057 Palmanova, Italy;
| | - Sagnik Bhattacharyya
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK;
| | - Matteo Balestrieri
- Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy;
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Mazza M, Pino MC, Keller R, Vagnetti R, Attanasio M, Filocamo A, Le Donne I, Masedu F, Valenti M. Qualitative Differences in Attribution of Mental States to Other People in Autism and Schizophrenia: What are the Tools for Differential Diagnosis? J Autism Dev Disord 2022; 52:1283-1298. [PMID: 33909212 PMCID: PMC8854268 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-05035-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The differential diagnosis between schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) remains an important clinical question, because they have overlap in clinical diagnosis. This study explored the differences between ASD (n = 44) and SSD patients (n = 59), compared to typically developing peers (n = 63), in completing an advanced Theory of Mind (ToM) task. The outcome found several differences between groups. The SSD patients showed greater difficulty in understanding social scenarios, while ASD individuals understood the stories, but did not correctly identify the protagonist's intention. The interesting aspect of the results is that some ToM stories are more informative about the mentalistic reasoning of the two clinical groups, namely, the stories that investigate pretend, persuasion, double bluff and ironic joke constructs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Mazza
- Department of Applied Clinical Sciences and Biotechnology, University of L’Aquila, Via Vetoio, Località Coppito, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
- Reference Centre for Autism of the Abruzzo Region, Local Health Unit ASL 1, L’Aquila, Italy
| | - Maria Chiara Pino
- Department of Applied Clinical Sciences and Biotechnology, University of L’Aquila, Via Vetoio, Località Coppito, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
- Reference Centre for Autism of the Abruzzo Region, Local Health Unit ASL 1, L’Aquila, Italy
| | - Roberto Keller
- Reference Centre for Adult Autism of the Piemonte Region, DSM Local Health Unit ASL Città di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Roberto Vagnetti
- Department of Applied Clinical Sciences and Biotechnology, University of L’Aquila, Via Vetoio, Località Coppito, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
| | - Margherita Attanasio
- Department of Applied Clinical Sciences and Biotechnology, University of L’Aquila, Via Vetoio, Località Coppito, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
- Reference Centre for Autism of the Abruzzo Region, Local Health Unit ASL 1, L’Aquila, Italy
| | - Angela Filocamo
- Reference Centre for Autism of the Abruzzo Region, Local Health Unit ASL 1, L’Aquila, Italy
| | - Ilenia Le Donne
- Reference Centre for Autism of the Abruzzo Region, Local Health Unit ASL 1, L’Aquila, Italy
| | - Francesco Masedu
- Department of Applied Clinical Sciences and Biotechnology, University of L’Aquila, Via Vetoio, Località Coppito, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
| | - Marco Valenti
- Department of Applied Clinical Sciences and Biotechnology, University of L’Aquila, Via Vetoio, Località Coppito, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
- Reference Centre for Autism of the Abruzzo Region, Local Health Unit ASL 1, L’Aquila, Italy
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Jutla A, Foss-Feig J, Veenstra-VanderWeele J. Autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia: An updated conceptual review. Autism Res 2022; 15:384-412. [PMID: 34967130 PMCID: PMC8931527 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia (SCZ) are separate disorders, with distinct clinical profiles and natural histories. ASD, typically diagnosed in childhood, is characterized by restricted or repetitive interests or behaviors and impaired social communication, and it tends to have a stable course. SCZ, typically diagnosed in adolescence or adulthood, is characterized by hallucinations and delusions, and tends to be associated with declining function. However, youth with ASD are three to six times more likely to develop SCZ than their neurotypical counterparts, and increasingly, research has shown that ASD and SCZ converge at several levels. We conducted a systematic review of studies since 2013 relevant to understanding this convergence, and present here a narrative synthesis of key findings, which we have organized into four broad categories: symptoms and behavior, perception and cognition, biomarkers, and genetic and environmental risk. We then discuss opportunities for future research into the phenomenology and neurobiology of overlap between ASD and SCZ. Understanding this overlap will allow for researchers, and eventually clinicians, to understand the factors that may make a child with ASD vulnerable to developing SCZ. LAY SUMMARY: Autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia are distinct diagnoses, but people with autism and people with schizophrena share several characteristics. We review recent studies that have examined these areas of overlap, and discuss the kinds of studies we will need to better understand how these disorders are related. Understanding this will be important to help us identify which autistic children are at risk of developing schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amandeep Jutla
- Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and
Surgeons, 630 W 168th St, New York, NY 10032, United States
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside
Drive, Mail Unit 78, New York, NY 10032, United States
| | - Jennifer Foss-Feig
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn
School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Department of Psychiatry, 1 Gustave L. Levy
Place, Box 1230, New York, NY 10029, United States
| | - Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele
- Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and
Surgeons, 630 W 168th St, New York, NY 10032, United States
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside
Drive, Mail Unit 78, New York, NY 10032, United States
- Center for Autism and the Developing Brain, New
York-Presbyterian Westchester Behavioral Health Center, 21 Bloomingdale Road, White
Plains, NY 10605, United States
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Yang N, Hurd PL, Crespi BJ. Why iPlay: The Relationships of Autistic and Schizotypal Traits With Patterns of Video Game Use. Front Psychol 2022; 13:767446. [PMID: 35282248 PMCID: PMC8905237 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.767446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Video games are popular and ubiquitous aspects of human culture, but their relationships to psychological and neurophysiological traits have yet to be analyzed in social-evolutionary frameworks. We examined the relationships of video game usage, motivations, and preferences with autistic and schizotypal traits and two aspects of neurophysiology, reaction time and targeting time. Participants completed the Autism Quotient, Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire, a Video Game Usage Questionnaire, and two neurophysiological tasks. We tested in particular the hypotheses, motivated by theory and previous work, that: (1) participants with higher autism scores would play video games more, and participants with higher schizotypy scores would play video games less; and (2) autism and positive schizotypy would be associated with opposite patterns of video game use, preferences and motivations. Females, but not males, with higher autism scores played more video games, and exhibited evidence of relatively male-typical video game genre preferences and motivations. By contrast, positive schizotypy was associated with reduced video game use in both genders, for several measures of game use frequency. In line with previous findings, males played video game more than females did overall, preferred action video games, and exhibited faster reaction and targeting times. Females preferred Puzzle and Social Simulation games. Faster reaction and targeting times were associated with gaming motives related to skill development and building behavior. These findings show that gaming use and patterns reflect aspects of psychology, and gender, related to social cognition and imagination, as well as aspects of neurophysiology. More generally, the results suggest that video game use is notably affected by levels of autistic and schizotypal traits, and that video games may provide an evolutionarily novel medium for imaginative play in which immersive play experiences can be decoupled from social interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Pete L. Hurd
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Bernard J. Crespi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
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Behavioral, hormonal, and neural alterations induced by social contagion for pain in mice. Neuropharmacology 2022; 203:108878. [PMID: 34774550 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Neurobiology of social contagion/empathy aims to collaborate with the development of treatments for human disorders characterized by the absence of this response - autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, and antisocial personality disorder. Previous studies using sustained aversive stimuli (e.g., neuropathic pain or stress) to induce social contagion behaviors in rodents have demonstrated that these conditions may increase hypernociception, anxiogenic-like effects, and defensive behaviors in cagemates. To amplify the knowledge about behavioral, hormonal, and neural alterations induced by cohabitation with a pair in neuropathic pain, we investigated the effects of this protocol on (i) pain (writhing, formalin, hot plate tests) and depression (sucrose splash test) responses, (ii) the serum levels of corticosterone, testosterone, and oxytocin, (iii) noradrenalin, dopamine and its metabolite (DOPAC and HVA) levels in the amygdaloid complex and insular cortex, (iv) neuronal activation pattern (FosB labeling) in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) and supraoptic nucleus (SO). One day after weaning, male Swiss mice were housed in pairs for 14 days. Then, they were divided into two groups: sciatic nerve constricted cagemate [CNC; i.e., one animal of each pair was subjected to sciatic nerve constriction (NC)], and cagemate sham (CS; a similar procedure but with no nerve constriction), and housed for further 14 days. After 28 days of cohabiting, four independent groups were subjected to (a) behavioral analyses (Exp. 1) and (b) blood samples collected for Elisa assays of corticosterone, testosterone, and oxytocin (Exp. 2), remotion of brains for the (c) HPLC in the noradrenaline dopamine and metabolites quantification (Exp. 3) or (d) immunoassays analyses for FosB labeling (Exp. 4). Results showed that cohabitation with a conspecific in chronic pain induces hypernociception and antinociception in the writhing and formalin tests, respectively, and anhedonic-like effects in the sucrose splash test. Hormonal results indicated a decrease in plasma corticosterone only in nerve constricted mice, in testosterone (CNC and NC animals), and an increase in oxytocin serum levels. The neurochemical analyses demonstrated that the social contagion for pain protocol increases in dopamine turnover in the amygdala and insula. This assay also revealed an increase in noradrenaline levels and dopamine turnover within the insula of NC mice. In the FosB labeling measure, we observed a rise in the VTA, PVN and SO in the CNC group whereas for the NC group an increase of this activation pattern occurred only in the VTA. Present results suggest the role of hormones (testosterone and oxytocin) and neurotransmitters (dopamine) in the modulation of behavioral changes induced by social contagion in animals cohabitating with a conspecific in pain.
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Understanding others through observed touch: neural correlates, developmental aspects, and psychopathology. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Rambeau S, Del Goleto S, Pignon B, Lajnef M, Petrucci J, Szöke A, Fond G, Lançon C, Dorey JM, Rey R, Garbisson A, Capdevielle D, Leignier S, Dubreucq J, Mallet J, Dubertret C, Urbach M, Brunet-Gouet E, Aouizerate B, Misdrahi D, Zinetti-Bertschy A, Clauss J, Llorca PM, Chereau I, Leboyer M, Roux P, Schürhoff F. Relationship between neurocognition and theory of mind as a function of symptomatic profile in schizophrenia: results from the national FACE-SZ cohort. Cogn Neuropsychiatry 2022; 27:49-68. [PMID: 34882065 DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2021.2011184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Deficits in theory of mind (ToM) can vary depending on the predominant schizophrenia symptoms, and though most neurocognitive functions are involved in ToM, all may not be associated with the same symptoms. With consideration to the relationships between symptoms, neurocognition and ToM, the aim of the present study is to identify the neurocognitive functions influencing ToM capacities according to symptomatic profile. METHODS The study is based on a sample of 124 adults with schizophrenia from a French national cohort. Patients were divided into two groups according to their scores on the five Wallwork factors of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale using hierarchical clustering before carrying out multivariable analyses. RESULTS The "disorganised group" (n = 89) showed high scores on the disorganised factor, and had a ToM associated with reasoning, visual recognition and speed of processing. The "positive group" (n = 35) showed high scores on the positive and depressive factors, and had a ToM associated with working memory. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that neurocognitive predictors of ToM in schizophrenia are different according to the predominant clinical dimension, thus refining our knowledge of the relationship between symptoms, neurocognition and ToM, and acknowledging their status as important predictors of patients' functional status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sébastien Rambeau
- Université Paris Est Créteil (UPEC), AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires « H. Mondor », DMU IMPACT, INSERM, IMRB, Neuropsychiatrie translationnelle, Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France
| | - Sarah Del Goleto
- Université Paris Est Créteil (UPEC), AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires « H. Mondor », DMU IMPACT, INSERM, IMRB, Neuropsychiatrie translationnelle, Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France
| | - Baptiste Pignon
- Université Paris Est Créteil (UPEC), AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires « H. Mondor », DMU IMPACT, INSERM, IMRB, Neuropsychiatrie translationnelle, Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France
| | - Mohamed Lajnef
- Université Paris Est Créteil (UPEC), AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires « H. Mondor », DMU IMPACT, INSERM, IMRB, Neuropsychiatrie translationnelle, Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France
| | - Jean Petrucci
- Université Paris Est Créteil (UPEC), AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires « H. Mondor », DMU IMPACT, INSERM, IMRB, Neuropsychiatrie translationnelle, Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France
| | - Andreï Szöke
- Université Paris Est Créteil (UPEC), AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires « H. Mondor », DMU IMPACT, INSERM, IMRB, Neuropsychiatrie translationnelle, Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France
| | - Guillaume Fond
- AP-HM, Université Aix-Marseille, Ecole de médecine - La Timone Medical Campus, EA 3279: CEReSS - Centre d'Études et de Recherche sur les Services de Santé et la Qualité de Vie, Marseille, France
| | - Christophe Lançon
- AP-HM, Université Aix-Marseille, Ecole de médecine - La Timone Medical Campus, EA 3279: CEReSS - Centre d'Études et de Recherche sur les Services de Santé et la Qualité de Vie, Marseille, France
| | - Jean-Michel Dorey
- INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Equipe PSYR2, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Pole Est, Bron Cedex, France
| | - Romain Rey
- INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Equipe PSYR2, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Pole Est, Bron Cedex, France
| | - Amandine Garbisson
- Service Universitaire de Psychiatrie Adulte, Hôpital la Colombière, CHRU Montpellier, Université Montpellier 1, Inserm 1061, Montpellier, France
| | - Delphine Capdevielle
- Service Universitaire de Psychiatrie Adulte, Hôpital la Colombière, CHRU Montpellier, Université Montpellier 1, Inserm 1061, Montpellier, France
| | - Sylvain Leignier
- Centre Référent de Réhabilitation Psychosociale et de Remédiation Cognitive (C3R), CH Alpes Isère, France
| | - Julien Dubreucq
- Centre Référent de Réhabilitation Psychosociale et de Remédiation Cognitive (C3R), CH Alpes Isère, France
| | - Jasmina Mallet
- AP-HP, Groupe Hospitalo-Universitaire AP-HP Nord, service de Psychiatrie et Addictologie. Hôpital Louis Mourier, Colombes, France.,Université de Paris, INSERM UMR1266, Institut de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences de Paris, Paris, France
| | - Caroline Dubertret
- AP-HP, Groupe Hospitalo-Universitaire AP-HP Nord, service de Psychiatrie et Addictologie. Hôpital Louis Mourier, Colombes, France.,Université de Paris, INSERM UMR1266, Institut de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences de Paris, Paris, France
| | - Mathieu Urbach
- Service Universitaire de Psychiatrie d'Adultes et d'Addictologie, Centre Hospitalier de Versailles, Le Chesnay, France.,DisAP-DevPsy-CESP, INSERM UMR1018, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Versailles Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines, Villejuif, France
| | - Eric Brunet-Gouet
- Service Universitaire de Psychiatrie d'Adultes et d'Addictologie, Centre Hospitalier de Versailles, Le Chesnay, France.,DisAP-DevPsy-CESP, INSERM UMR1018, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Versailles Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines, Villejuif, France
| | - Bruno Aouizerate
- Centre Hospitalier Charles Perrens, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,INRA, NutriNeuro, Université de Bordeaux, U1286, Bordeaux, France
| | - David Misdrahi
- Centre Hospitalier Charles Perrens, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,INRA, NutriNeuro, Université de Bordeaux, U1286, Bordeaux, France
| | - Anna Zinetti-Bertschy
- Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, INSERM U1114, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Julie Clauss
- Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, INSERM U1114, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Pierre-Michel Llorca
- CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Département de Psychiatrie, Université de Clermont Auvergne, EA 7280, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Isabelle Chereau
- CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Département de Psychiatrie, Université de Clermont Auvergne, EA 7280, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | | | - Marion Leboyer
- Université Paris Est Créteil (UPEC), AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires « H. Mondor », DMU IMPACT, INSERM, IMRB, Neuropsychiatrie translationnelle, Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France
| | - Paul Roux
- Service Universitaire de Psychiatrie d'Adultes et d'Addictologie, Centre Hospitalier de Versailles, Le Chesnay, France.,DisAP-DevPsy-CESP, INSERM UMR1018, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Versailles Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines, Villejuif, France
| | - Franck Schürhoff
- Université Paris Est Créteil (UPEC), AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires « H. Mondor », DMU IMPACT, INSERM, IMRB, Neuropsychiatrie translationnelle, Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France
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Gossink F, Dols A, Stek ML, Scheltens P, Nijmeijer B, Cohn Hokke P, Dijkstra A, Van Ruissen F, Aalfs C, Pijnenburg YAL. Early life involvement in C9orf72 repeat expansion carriers. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2022; 93:93-100. [PMID: 33906932 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2020-325994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 gene (C9orf72) hexanucleotide repeat expansion (C9orf72RE) is the most common genetic cause of behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Since the onset of the C9orf72RE-associated disease is sometimes hard to define, we hypothesise that C9orf72RE may cause a lifelong neuropsychiatric vulnerability. The first aim of our study was to explore lifelong behavioural and personality characteristics in C9orf72RE. Second, we aimed to describe distinctive characteristics of C9orf72RE during disease course. METHODS Out of 183 patients from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort that underwent genetic testing between 2011 and 2018, 20 C9orf72RE bvFTD patients and 23 C9orf72RE negative bvFTD patients were included. Patients and their relatives were interviewed extensively to chart their biography. Data analysis was performed through a mixed-methods approach including qualitative and quantitative analyses. RESULTS Education, type of professional career and number of intimate partners were not different between carriers and non-carriers. Carriers were more often described by their relatives as having 'fixed behavioural patterns in daily life' and with limited empathy already years before onset of bvFTD symptoms. In carriers, disease course was more often characterised by excessive buying and obsessive physical exercise than in non-carriers. CONCLUSION This is the first study thoroughly exploring biographies of bvFTD patients with C9orf72RE, revealing that subtle personality traits may be present early in life. Our study suggests that C9orf72RE exerts a lifelong neuropsychiatric vulnerability. This may strengthen hypotheses of links between neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, the presence of a distinct C9orf72RE -associated syndrome within the FTD spectrum opens doors for investigation of vulnerable neuronal networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flora Gossink
- Alzheimer Center, Department of Neurology, Location VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam University Medical Centres, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Annemiek Dols
- Department of Old Age psychiatry, GGZ inGeest Amsterdam locatie De Nieuwe Valerius, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Max L Stek
- Department of Old Age psychiatry, GGZ inGeest Amsterdam locatie De Nieuwe Valerius, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Philip Scheltens
- Alzheimer Center, Department of Neurology, Location VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam University Medical Centres, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Bas Nijmeijer
- Clinical Genetics, Amsterdam UMC Locatie VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Anke Dijkstra
- Amsterdam UMC Locatie VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Fred Van Ruissen
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Amsterdam UMC Location AMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Yolande A L Pijnenburg
- Alzheimer Center, Department of Neurology, Location VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam University Medical Centres, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Riccioni A, Siracusano M, Vasta M, Ribolsi M, Nastro FF, Gialloreti LE, Di Lorenzo G, Mazzone L. Clinical profile and conversion rate to full psychosis in a prospective cohort study of youth affected by autism spectrum disorder and attenuated psychosis syndrome: A preliminary report. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:950888. [PMID: 36213900 PMCID: PMC9542639 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.950888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychosis can occur at high rates in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the detection of prodromal psychotic symptoms, including attenuated psychosis syndrome (APS), conditions at high risk of converting to full psychosis, has not been extensively investigated in ASD. We longitudinally evaluate a sample of young ASD individuals (age, mean ± SD: 13 ± 2.9) with (n = 13) or without (n = 18) concomitant APS through a standardized assessment of autistic (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition; ADOS-2) and psychotic (Structured Interview for Psychosis-Risk Syndromes, SIPS) symptoms and cognitive and adaptive skills. Individuals with other neuropsychiatric disorders were excluded. We estimated the conversion rate to full psychosis (according to SIPS criteria) over time (39.6 ± 11.5 months) and explored the role of clinical variables at baseline in the transition to full psychosis. A conversion rate to full psychosis of 30.7% was found in ASD/APS. Conversion to full psychosis was not affected by the severity of the autistic and psychotic symptoms. At baseline, young individuals with ASD/APS who later converted to full psychosis showed lower cognitive performance (d = 2.05) and greater impairment of adaptive social functioning profile (d = 1.2) than those with ASD. The results of this preliminary report revealed that nearly a third of young individuals with ASD/APS convert to full psychosis over time. Conversion to full psychosis is affected by decreased cognitive and adaptive skills. Further investigations are needed to confirm the utility of APS detection and to better characterize the psychotic developmental trajectory in ASD, with consequent important implications on prognosis and therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Assia Riccioni
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Tor Vergata University Hospital, Fondazione PTV - Policlinico Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.,Chair of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Martina Siracusano
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Tor Vergata University Hospital, Fondazione PTV - Policlinico Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.,Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Michelangelo Vasta
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Tor Vergata University Hospital, Fondazione PTV - Policlinico Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.,Chair of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Michele Ribolsi
- Unit of Neurology, Neurophysiology, Neurobiology, and Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Federico Fiori Nastro
- Chair of Psychiatry, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.,Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology Unit, Fondazione PTV - Policlinico Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Giorgio Di Lorenzo
- Chair of Psychiatry, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Luigi Mazzone
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Tor Vergata University Hospital, Fondazione PTV - Policlinico Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.,Chair of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
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Blokland GAM, Grove J, Chen CY, Cotsapas C, Tobet S, Handa R, St Clair D, Lencz T, Mowry BJ, Periyasamy S, Cairns MJ, Tooney PA, Wu JQ, Kelly B, Kirov G, Sullivan PF, Corvin A, Riley BP, Esko T, Milani L, Jönsson EG, Palotie A, Ehrenreich H, Begemann M, Steixner-Kumar A, Sham PC, Iwata N, Weinberger DR, Gejman PV, Sanders AR, Buxbaum JD, Rujescu D, Giegling I, Konte B, Hartmann AM, Bramon E, Murray RM, Pato MT, Lee J, Melle I, Molden E, Ophoff RA, McQuillin A, Bass NJ, Adolfsson R, Malhotra AK, Martin NG, Fullerton JM, Mitchell PB, Schofield PR, Forstner AJ, Degenhardt F, Schaupp S, Comes AL, Kogevinas M, Guzman-Parra J, Reif A, Streit F, Sirignano L, Cichon S, Grigoroiu-Serbanescu M, Hauser J, Lissowska J, Mayoral F, Müller-Myhsok B, Świątkowska B, Schulze TG, Nöthen MM, Rietschel M, Kelsoe J, Leboyer M, Jamain S, Etain B, Bellivier F, Vincent JB, Alda M, O'Donovan C, Cervantes P, Biernacka JM, Frye M, McElroy SL, Scott LJ, Stahl EA, Landén M, Hamshere ML, Smeland OB, Djurovic S, Vaaler AE, Andreassen OA, Baune BT, Air T, Preisig M, Uher R, Levinson DF, Weissman MM, Potash JB, Shi J, Knowles JA, Perlis RH, Lucae S, Boomsma DI, Penninx BWJH, Hottenga JJ, de Geus EJC, Willemsen G, Milaneschi Y, Tiemeier H, Grabe HJ, Teumer A, Van der Auwera S, Völker U, Hamilton SP, Magnusson PKE, Viktorin A, Mehta D, Mullins N, Adams MJ, Breen G, McIntosh AM, Lewis CM, Hougaard DM, Nordentoft M, Mors O, Mortensen PB, Werge T, Als TD, Børglum AD, Petryshen TL, Smoller JW, Goldstein JM. Sex-Dependent Shared and Nonshared Genetic Architecture Across Mood and Psychotic Disorders. Biol Psychiatry 2022; 91:102-117. [PMID: 34099189 PMCID: PMC8458480 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.02.972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Revised: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sex differences in incidence and/or presentation of schizophrenia (SCZ), major depressive disorder (MDD), and bipolar disorder (BIP) are pervasive. Previous evidence for shared genetic risk and sex differences in brain abnormalities across disorders suggest possible shared sex-dependent genetic risk. METHODS We conducted the largest to date genome-wide genotype-by-sex (G×S) interaction of risk for these disorders using 85,735 cases (33,403 SCZ, 19,924 BIP, and 32,408 MDD) and 109,946 controls from the PGC (Psychiatric Genomics Consortium) and iPSYCH. RESULTS Across disorders, genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphism-by-sex interaction was detected for a locus encompassing NKAIN2 (rs117780815, p = 3.2 × 10-8), which interacts with sodium/potassium-transporting ATPase (adenosine triphosphatase) enzymes, implicating neuronal excitability. Three additional loci showed evidence (p < 1 × 10-6) for cross-disorder G×S interaction (rs7302529, p = 1.6 × 10-7; rs73033497, p = 8.8 × 10-7; rs7914279, p = 6.4 × 10-7), implicating various functions. Gene-based analyses identified G×S interaction across disorders (p = 8.97 × 10-7) with transcriptional inhibitor SLTM. Most significant in SCZ was a MOCOS gene locus (rs11665282, p = 1.5 × 10-7), implicating vascular endothelial cells. Secondary analysis of the PGC-SCZ dataset detected an interaction (rs13265509, p = 1.1 × 10-7) in a locus containing IDO2, a kynurenine pathway enzyme with immunoregulatory functions implicated in SCZ, BIP, and MDD. Pathway enrichment analysis detected significant G×S interaction of genes regulating vascular endothelial growth factor receptor signaling in MDD (false discovery rate-corrected p < .05). CONCLUSIONS In the largest genome-wide G×S analysis of mood and psychotic disorders to date, there was substantial genetic overlap between the sexes. However, significant sex-dependent effects were enriched for genes related to neuronal development and immune and vascular functions across and within SCZ, BIP, and MDD at the variant, gene, and pathway levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriëlla A M Blokland
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
| | - Jakob Grove
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Copenhagen, Denmark; Center for Genome Analysis and Personalized Medicine, Aarhus, Denmark; Bioinformatics Research Centre (BiRC), Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Chia-Yen Chen
- Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Biogen Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Chris Cotsapas
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Departments of Neurology and Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Stuart Tobet
- Innovation Center on Sex Differences in Medicine (ICON), Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Robert Handa
- Innovation Center on Sex Differences in Medicine (ICON), Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - David St Clair
- University of Aberdeen, Institute of Medical Sciences, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Todd Lencz
- The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, New York; The Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, New York; The Zucker Hillside Hospital, Glen Oaks, New York
| | - Bryan J Mowry
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sathish Periyasamy
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, The Park - Centre for Mental Health, Wacol, Queensland, Australia
| | - Murray J Cairns
- Schizophrenia Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia; Priority Centre for Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Paul A Tooney
- School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia; Priority Centre for Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; Schizophrenia Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Jing Qin Wu
- School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia; Schizophrenia Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Brian Kelly
- Priority Centre for Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
| | - George Kirov
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Patrick F Sullivan
- Departments of Genetics and Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Aiden Corvin
- Neuropsychiatric Genetics Research Group, Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Brien P Riley
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Departments of Psychiatry and Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - Tõnu Esko
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Lili Milani
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Erik G Jönsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry Section, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Aarno Palotie
- Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Hannelore Ehrenreich
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Martin Begemann
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Agnes Steixner-Kumar
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Pak C Sham
- Department of Psychiatry, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR China; State Key Laboratory for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR China; Centre for Genomic Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR China
| | - Nakao Iwata
- Department of Psychiatry, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan
| | - Daniel R Weinberger
- Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Baltimore, Maryland; Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, Neuroscience and Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Pablo V Gejman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, North Shore University Health System, Evanston, Illinois
| | - Alan R Sanders
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, North Shore University Health System, Evanston, Illinois
| | - Joseph D Buxbaum
- Departments of Human Genetics and Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Dan Rujescu
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Halle, Halle, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Ina Giegling
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Halle, Halle, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Bettina Konte
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Halle, Halle, Germany
| | | | - Elvira Bramon
- Mental Health Neuroscience Research Department, Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Robin M Murray
- Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michele T Pato
- Institute for Genomic Health, SUNY Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine, Brooklyn, New York; Department of Psychiatry and Zilkha Neurogenetics Institute, Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Jimmy Lee
- Research Division and Department of General Psychiatry, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore, Singapore; Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Singapore
| | - Ingrid Melle
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo and Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Espen Molden
- Center for Psychopharmacology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway; Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Roel A Ophoff
- University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department of Human Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, California; David Geffen School of Medicine, and Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Andrew McQuillin
- Molecular Psychiatry Laboratory, Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Nicholas J Bass
- Molecular Psychiatry Laboratory, Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Rolf Adolfsson
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Psychiatry, Umeå University Medical Faculty, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Anil K Malhotra
- The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, New York; The Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, New York; The Zucker Hillside Hospital, Glen Oaks, New York
| | - Nicholas G Martin
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Genetics and Computational Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Janice M Fullerton
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Philip B Mitchell
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Peter R Schofield
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Andreas J Forstner
- Centre for Human Genetics, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany; Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, School of Medicine & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Franziska Degenhardt
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, School of Medicine & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany
| | - Sabrina Schaupp
- Institute of Psychiatric Phenomics and Genomics (IPPG), University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Ashley L Comes
- Institute of Psychiatric Phenomics and Genomics (IPPG), University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany; International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry (IMPRS-TP), Munich, Germany
| | | | - José Guzman-Parra
- Mental Health Department, University Regional Hospital, Biomedical Research Institute of Málaga (IBIMA), Málaga, Spain
| | - Andreas Reif
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Fabian Streit
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Lea Sirignano
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Sven Cichon
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, School of Medicine & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Institute of Medical Genetics and Pathology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Maria Grigoroiu-Serbanescu
- Biometric Psychiatric Genetics Research Unit, Alexandru Obregia Clinical Psychiatric Hospital, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Joanna Hauser
- Department of Psychiatry, Laboratory of Psychiatric Genetics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
| | - Jolanta Lissowska
- Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention, M. Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Fermin Mayoral
- Mental Health Department, University Regional Hospital, Biomedical Research Institute of Málaga (IBIMA), Málaga, Spain
| | - Bertram Müller-Myhsok
- University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom; Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany; Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany
| | - Beata Świątkowska
- Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland
| | - Thomas G Schulze
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; Institute of Psychiatric Phenomics and Genomics (IPPG), University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany; Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Markus M Nöthen
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, School of Medicine & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Marcella Rietschel
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - John Kelsoe
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Marion Leboyer
- Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Est, Créteil, France; Department of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France; Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM), Paris, France
| | - Stéphane Jamain
- Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Est, Créteil, France; INSERM U955, Psychiatrie Translationnelle, Créteil, France
| | - Bruno Etain
- Centre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom; Department of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France; UMR-S1144 Team 1 Biomarkers of relapse and therapeutic response in addiction and mood disorders, INSERM, Paris, France; Psychiatry, Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France
| | - Frank Bellivier
- Department of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France; UMR-S1144 Team 1 Biomarkers of relapse and therapeutic response in addiction and mood disorders, INSERM, Paris, France; Psychiatry, Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France; Paris Bipolar and TRD Expert Centres, FondaMental Foundation, Paris, France
| | - John B Vincent
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Martin Alda
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
| | - Claire O'Donovan
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Pablo Cervantes
- Department of Psychiatry, Mood Disorders Program, McGill University Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Joanna M Biernacka
- Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Mark Frye
- Department of Psychiatry & Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
| | | | - Laura J Scott
- Center for Statistical Genetics and Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Eli A Stahl
- Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Mikael Landén
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Marian L Hamshere
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Olav B Smeland
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo and Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Srdjan Djurovic
- Department of Medical Genetics, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT Centre, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Arne E Vaaler
- Department of Mental Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology - NTNU, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Psychiatry, St Olavs' University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Ole A Andreassen
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo and Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Bernhard T Baune
- Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Tracy Air
- Discipline of Psychiatry, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Austrlalia, Australia
| | - Martin Preisig
- Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Rudolf Uher
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Douglas F Levinson
- Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Myrna M Weissman
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; Division of Translational Epidemiology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York
| | - James B Potash
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Jianxin Shi
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - James A Knowles
- Psychiatry & The Behavioral Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Roy H Perlis
- Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Susanne Lucae
- Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Dorret I Boomsma
- Department of Biological Psychology/Netherlands Twin Register, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Brenda W J H Penninx
- Department of Psychiatry, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center and GGZ inGeest, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Jouke-Jan Hottenga
- Department of Biological Psychology/Netherlands Twin Register, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Eco J C de Geus
- Department of Biological Psychology/Netherlands Twin Register, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Gonneke Willemsen
- Department of Biological Psychology/Netherlands Twin Register, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Yuri Milaneschi
- Department of Psychiatry, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center and GGZ inGeest, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Henning Tiemeier
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Hans J Grabe
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Alexander Teumer
- Institute of Community Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Sandra Van der Auwera
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Uwe Völker
- Interfaculty Institute for Genetics and Functional Genomics, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | | | - Patrik K E Magnusson
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alexander Viktorin
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Divya Mehta
- School of Psychology and Counseling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Niamh Mullins
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mark J Adams
- Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Gerome Breen
- NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew M McIntosh
- Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Cathryn M Lewis
- Department of Medical & Molecular Genetics, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - David M Hougaard
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Copenhagen, Denmark; Center for Neonatal Screening, Department for Congenital Disorders, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Merete Nordentoft
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Copenhagen, Denmark; Copenhagen Mental Health Center, Mental Health Services Capital Region of Denmark Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ole Mors
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Copenhagen, Denmark; Psychosis Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Risskov, Denmark
| | - Preben B Mortensen
- Centre for Integrative Sequencing (iSEQ), Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; National Centre for Register-Based Research (NCCR), Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Centre for Integrated Register-based Research (CIRRAU), Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Thomas Werge
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Institute of Biological Psychiatry, Mental Health Center Sct. Hans, Mental Health Services Copenhagen, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Thomas D Als
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Copenhagen, Denmark; Center for Genome Analysis and Personalized Medicine, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Anders D Børglum
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Copenhagen, Denmark; Center for Genome Analysis and Personalized Medicine, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Tracey L Petryshen
- Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Lexington, Massachusetts
| | - Jordan W Smoller
- Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Jill M Goldstein
- Innovation Center on Sex Differences in Medicine (ICON), Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry and Vincent Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; MGH-MIT-HMS Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, Massachusetts; Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
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Abu-Akel A, Wood SJ, Upthegrove R, Chisholm K, Lin A, Hansen PC, Gillespie SM, Apperly IA, Montag C. Psychosocial functioning in the balance between autism and psychosis: evidence from three populations. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:2976-2984. [PMID: 35422471 PMCID: PMC9205777 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01543-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Functional impairment is a core feature of both autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. While diagnostically independent, they can co-occur in the same individual at both the trait and diagnostic levels. The effect of such co-occurrence is hypothesized to worsen functional impairment. The diametric model, however, suggests that the disorders are etiologically and phenotypically diametrical, representing the extreme of a unidimensional continuum of cognition and behavior. A central prediction of this model is that functional impairment would be attenuated in individuals with mixed symptom expressions or genetic liability to both disorders. We tested this hypothesis in two clinical populations and one healthy population. In individuals with chronic schizophrenia and in individuals with first episode psychosis we evaluated the combined effect of autistic traits and positive psychotic symptoms on psychosocial functioning. In healthy carriers of alleles of copy number variants (CNVs) that confer risk for both autism and schizophrenia, we also evaluated whether variation in psychosocial functioning depended on the combined risk conferred by each CNV. Relative to individuals with biased symptom/CNV risk profiles, results show that functional impairments are attenuated in individuals with relatively equal levels of positive symptoms and autistic traits-and specifically stereotypic behaviors-, and in carriers of CNVs with relatively equal risks for either disorder. However, the pattern of effects along the "balance axis" varied across the groups, with this attenuation being generally less pronounced in individuals with high-high symptom/risk profile in the schizophrenia and CNV groups, and relatively similar for low-low and high-high individuals in the first episode psychosis group. Lower levels of functional impairments in individuals with "balanced" symptom profile or genetic risks would suggest compensation across mechanisms associated with autism and schizophrenia. CNVs that confer equal risks for both disorders may provide an entry point for investigations into such compensatory mechanisms. The co-assessment of autism and schizophrenia may contribute to personalized prognosis and stratification strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad Abu-Akel
- Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland. .,School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, 31905, Haifa, Israel.
| | - Stephen J. Wood
- grid.6572.60000 0004 1936 7486School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK ,grid.1008.90000 0001 2179 088XCentre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 35 Poplar Rd, Parkville, VIC 3052 Australia ,grid.488501.00000 0004 8032 6923Orygen, Parkville, VIC 3052 Australia
| | - Rachel Upthegrove
- grid.6572.60000 0004 1936 7486School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK ,grid.6572.60000 0004 1936 7486Institute of Clinical Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Science, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK ,Forward Thinking Birmingham and Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust, 1 Printing House Street, Birmingham, B4 6DF UK
| | - Katharine Chisholm
- grid.6572.60000 0004 1936 7486School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK ,grid.7273.10000 0004 0376 4727Department of Psychology, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET UK
| | - Ashleigh Lin
- grid.1012.20000 0004 1936 7910Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, 15 Hospital Avenue, Perth, WA 6009 Australia
| | - Peter C. Hansen
- grid.6572.60000 0004 1936 7486School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK
| | - Steven M. Gillespie
- grid.10025.360000 0004 1936 8470Department of Primary Care and Mental Health, Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3GB UK
| | - Ian A. Apperly
- grid.6572.60000 0004 1936 7486School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK
| | - Christiane Montag
- grid.6363.00000 0001 2218 4662Charité University Medicine Berlin (Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin), Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Mitte, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
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49
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Sha Z, Schijven D, Francks C. Patterns of brain asymmetry associated with polygenic risks for autism and schizophrenia implicate language and executive functions but not brain masculinization. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:7652-7660. [PMID: 34211121 PMCID: PMC8872997 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01204-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia have been conceived as partly opposing disorders in terms of systemizing vs. empathizing cognitive styles, with resemblances to male vs. female average sex differences. Left-right asymmetry of the brain is an important aspect of its organization that shows average differences between the sexes and can be altered in both ASD and schizophrenia. Here we mapped multivariate associations of polygenic risk scores for ASD and schizophrenia with asymmetries of regional cerebral cortical surface area, thickness, and subcortical volume measures in 32,256 participants from the UK Biobank. Polygenic risks for the two disorders were positively correlated (r = 0.08, p = 7.13 × 10-50) and both were higher in females compared to males, consistent with biased participation against higher-risk males. Each polygenic risk score was associated with multivariate brain asymmetry after adjusting for sex, ASD r = 0.03, p = 2.17 × 10-9, and schizophrenia r = 0.04, p = 2.61 × 10-11, but the multivariate patterns were mostly distinct for the two polygenic risks and neither resembled average sex differences. Annotation based on meta-analyzed functional imaging data showed that both polygenic risks were associated with asymmetries of regions important for language and executive functions, consistent with behavioral associations that arose in phenome-wide association analysis. Overall, the results indicate that distinct patterns of subtly altered brain asymmetry may be functionally relevant manifestations of polygenic risks for ASD and schizophrenia, but do not support brain masculinization or feminization in their etiologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqiang Sha
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Dick Schijven
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Clyde Francks
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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Tarasi L, Trajkovic J, Diciotti S, di Pellegrino G, Ferri F, Ursino M, Romei V. Predictive waves in the autism-schizophrenia continuum: A novel biobehavioral model. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 132:1-22. [PMID: 34774901 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The brain is a predictive machine. Converging data suggests a diametric predictive strategy from autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to schizophrenic spectrum disorders (SSD). Whereas perceptual inference in ASD is rigidly shaped by incoming sensory information, the SSD population is prone to overestimate the precision of their priors' models. Growing evidence considers brain oscillations pivotal biomarkers to understand how top-down predictions integrate bottom-up input. Starting from the conceptualization of ASD and SSD as oscillopathies, we introduce an integrated perspective that ascribes the maladjustments of the predictive mechanism to dysregulation of neural synchronization. According to this proposal, disturbances in the oscillatory profile do not allow the appropriate trade-off between descending predictive signal, overweighted in SSD, and ascending prediction errors, overweighted in ASD. These opposing imbalances both result in an ill-adapted reaction to external challenges. This approach offers a neuro-computational model capable of linking predictive coding theories with electrophysiological findings, aiming to increase knowledge on the neuronal foundations of the two spectra features and stimulate hypothesis-driven rehabilitation/research perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Tarasi
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, 47521 Cesena, Italy.
| | - Jelena Trajkovic
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, 47521 Cesena, Italy
| | - Stefano Diciotti
- Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering "Guglielmo Marconi", University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy; Alma Mater Research Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Giuseppe di Pellegrino
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, 47521 Cesena, Italy
| | - Francesca Ferri
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Mauro Ursino
- Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering "Guglielmo Marconi", University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Romei
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, 47521 Cesena, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy.
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