Cerebral dominance and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders in adults with intellectual disability

Emotional Education in Early Onset Schizophrenia and Asperger's Syndrome

In this study, we aim to verify how emotional training can improve empathy and theory of mind (ToM) in patients diagnosed with early onset schizophrenia and Asperger's syndrome. The study design includes 100 subjects divided into two experimental groups and two control groups. The two experimental groups followed a rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) protocol. The two control groups instead underwent cognitive behavioral psychotherapy training. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was applied to analyze the difference between the Asperger's syndrome (AS) and early onset schizophrenia (EOS) groups, pre and post training. Our analysis shows that the AS group improved post emotional training but only when emotions were internalized, as demonstrated by the improvement of the scores in the post-treatment eye test (ET) but not in the emotional quotient (EQ) test. The EOS group instead showed post-training improvement, not only concerning skills leading to internalizing emotions but also in empathy, as demonstrated by the improvement of EQ and Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ) test scores. These scores remained lower than in the control group. Finally, our findings reveal that the value of the treatment was more considerable for the EOS group than for the AS group due to the improvement in first- and second-order ToM skills and an improvement of empathic skills in the first group, followed by the group comprising AS subjects. In the AS group, the treatment only favored the enhancement of first-order ToM skills; however, this improved quality of life and social adaptation.

Mixed handedness and achievement test scores of middle school boys

The purpose of the study was to replicate findings of an earlier study of fourth grade boys manifesting mixed handedness with a sample. Among 32 mixed-handed boys in Grades 6 to 8, the right-handed writer, left-handed thrower group obtained low spelling scores (Normal Curve Equivalent Scores) on the California Achievement Test significantly more frequently than the left-handed writer, right-handed thrower group. These findings are consistent with data for Grade 4 boys in the earlier study. Findings strengthen the hypotheses that mixed handedness is not a unitary neuropsychological entity and that boys who write with the right hand and throw with the left hand might be at risk for certain academic deficits.

Learning disability

Learning disability is common, affecting 1-2.5% of the general population in the Western world, and encompasses many different conditions. It usually leads to major functional impairment and lifelong need for support and interventions, not the least important of which are medical and health-care services. Rapid progress is being made in the understanding of the cause and pathogenesis of many learning disability syndromes, and these advances are likely to improve targeted interventions in the next decade. Many countries have abolished a learning disability specialty for medical professionals, but there is a great need to revive this niche of medical knowledge. We know little about quality of life and effects on families of people with learning disability, and research is needed to address these issues.

[Specific aspects of psychoses in mentally retarded children and adolescents]

Mental retardation is a heterogenous neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by arrested or incomplete psychological development. The first part of the study deals with psychological and biological factors: etiology and pathogenesis of mental retardation and comorbid psychiatric disorders. Their etiopathogenesis is similar as in other neurodevelopmental disorders and it was analyzed in the part dealing with biological specificities of persons with mental retardation. Numerous biopsycho-social factors cause increased vulnerability of the mentally retarded to development of mental disorders. Thus, prevalence of these disorders is higher in mentally retarded persons than in general population. This study also deals with specificities regarding diagnosis of psychotic disorders in mentally retarded persons as well as neurobiologic, epidemiologic, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of schizophrenic psychoses, autism and affective disorders in persons with mental retardation. Special emphasis was given to diagnostics of these disorders in mentally retarded children and adolescents, as well as to problems of differential diagnostics. Apart from other things, we have concluded that specific clinical pictures demand subspeciality approach in the frame of developmental psychiatry.