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Gooding DC. Social anhedonia and other indicators of risk for schizophrenia: Theory and inquiry. Psychiatry Res 2023; 319:114966. [PMID: 36436399 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114966] [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: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
In this commentary, the author traces theoretical contributions that fueled her interest in the role of social/interpersonal striving, relating, and enjoyment in terms of schizophrenia. Social anhedonia is discussed in the context of schizophrenia. The author reviews selective empirical evidence indicating that social anhedonia has a unique role in terms of risk for schizophrenia as well as schizophrenia outcome. Other risk indicators for adult schizophrenia-spectrum outcomes are briefly considered. The author discusses the measurement of social anhedonia across the lifespan and transdiagnostically. Finally, this commentary offers a critique of current strategies for risk calculation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diane Carol Gooding
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States of America.
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2
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De la Serna E, Camprodon-Boadas P, Ilzarbe D, Sugranyes G, Baeza I, Moreno D, Díaz-Caneja CM, Rosa-Justicia M, Llorente C, Ayora M, Borras R, Torrent C, Bernardo M, Castro-Fornieles J. Neuropsychological development in the child and adolescent offspring of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder: A two-year follow-up comparative study. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2020; 103:109972. [PMID: 32454164 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.109972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2020] [Revised: 05/18/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED There has been growing scientific evidence in recent years that schizophrenia and bipolar disorder share clinical, cognitive, neuroimaging and genetic characteristics. This overlap might also be present in their offspring, who have an increased risk of developing both disorders. Comparing the characteristics of these samples may have important implications for understanding etiological processes. This study aimed to assess the development of cognitive functions over two years in a sample of child and adolescent offspring of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (SZoff) or bipolar disorder (BDoff), comparing them with a community control group (CCoff). METHODS 90 BDoff, 41 SZoff and 107 CCoff aged between 6 and 17 years were included at baseline. At the two-year follow-up, 84.9% of the sample was re-assessed (78 BDoff, 32 SZoff and 92 CCoff). All subjects were assessed with a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery at baseline and at the two-year follow-up to evaluate: intelligence quotient, working memory, processing speed, verbal memory and learning, visual memory, executive functions and sustained attention. RESULTS Processing speed, verbal memory and executive functions showed different developmental patterns among the SZoff, BDoff and CCoff groups. The SZoff group maintained baseline performances in the three variables over time, while the BDoff group presented improved processing speed and executive functioning and the CCoff group showed improvements in verbal memory and executive functions at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the development of some cognitive functions might differ between child and adolescent SZoff and BDoff, indicating different trajectories during neurodevelopment.
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Affiliation(s)
- E De la Serna
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Spain; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Institut Clinic de Neurociències, Hospital Clínic Universitari, Barcelona 2017SGR881, Spain.
| | - P Camprodon-Boadas
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Institut Clinic de Neurociències, Hospital Clínic Universitari, Barcelona 2017SGR881, Spain; Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica, Barcelona, Spain
| | - D Ilzarbe
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Institut Clinic de Neurociències, Hospital Clínic Universitari, Barcelona 2017SGR881, Spain; Department of Child Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Department of Psychiatry, Universitair Medisch Centrum Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica August Pi i Sunyer, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain
| | - G Sugranyes
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Spain; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Institut Clinic de Neurociències, Hospital Clínic Universitari, Barcelona 2017SGR881, Spain; Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica August Pi i Sunyer, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain
| | - I Baeza
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Spain; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Institut Clinic de Neurociències, Hospital Clínic Universitari, Barcelona 2017SGR881, Spain; Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica August Pi i Sunyer, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Spain
| | - D Moreno
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Spain; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón School of Medicine, Universidad Complutense, IiSGM, CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain
| | - C M Díaz-Caneja
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Spain; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón School of Medicine, Universidad Complutense, IiSGM, CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain
| | - M Rosa-Justicia
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Institut Clinic de Neurociències, Hospital Clínic Universitari, Barcelona 2017SGR881, Spain; Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica August Pi i Sunyer, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain
| | - C Llorente
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Spain; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón School of Medicine, Universidad Complutense, IiSGM, CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain
| | - M Ayora
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Spain; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón School of Medicine, Universidad Complutense, IiSGM, CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain
| | - R Borras
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Institut Clinic de Neurociències, Hospital Clínic Universitari, Barcelona 2017SGR881, Spain; Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica August Pi i Sunyer, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain
| | - C Torrent
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Spain; Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica August Pi i Sunyer, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Spain; Bipolar and Depressive Disorders Unit, Institut Clinic de Neurociències, Hospital Clínic Universitari, Barcelona, Spain
| | - M Bernardo
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Spain; Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica August Pi i Sunyer, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Spain; Barcelona Clínic Schizophrenia Unit, Institut Clinic de Neurociències, Hospital Clínic Universitari, Barcelona, Spain
| | - J Castro-Fornieles
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Spain; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Institut Clinic de Neurociències, Hospital Clínic Universitari, Barcelona 2017SGR881, Spain; Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica August Pi i Sunyer, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Spain
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3
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Hoffman KW, Lee JJ, Corcoran CM, Kimhy D, Kranz TM, Malaspina D. Considering the Microbiome in Stress-Related and Neurodevelopmental Trajectories to Schizophrenia. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:629. [PMID: 32719625 PMCID: PMC7350783 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Early life adversity and prenatal stress are consistently associated with an increased risk for schizophrenia, although the exact pathogenic mechanisms linking the exposures with the disease remain elusive. Our previous view of the HPA stress axis as an elegant but simple negative feedback loop, orchestrating adaptation to stressors among the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands, needs to be updated. Research in the last two decades shows that important bidirectional signaling between the HPA axis and intestinal mucosa modulates brain function and neurochemistry, including effects on glucocorticoid hormones and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The intestinal microbiome in earliest life, which is seeded by the vaginal microbiome during delivery, programs the development of the HPA axis in a critical developmental window, determining stress sensitivity and HPA function as well as immune system development. The crosstalk between the HPA and the Microbiome Gut Brain Axis (MGBA) is particularly high in the hippocampus, the most consistently disrupted neural region in persons with schizophrenia. Animal models suggest that the MGBA remains influential on behavior and physiology across developmental stages, including the perinatal window, early childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Understanding the role of the microbiome on critical risk related stressors may enhance or transform of understanding of the origins of schizophrenia and offer new approaches to increase resilience against stress effects for preventing and treating schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin W. Hoffman
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Jakleen J. Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Cheryl M. Corcoran
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
- James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Centers (MIRECC), New York, NY, United States
| | - David Kimhy
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
- James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Centers (MIRECC), New York, NY, United States
| | - Thorsten M. Kranz
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Dolores Malaspina
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
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Heins M, Achterhof R, Collip D, Viechtbauer W, Kirtley OJ, Gunther N, van Os J, Feron F, Myin-Germeys I. Social functioning and subclinical psychosis in adolescence: a longitudinal general adolescent population study. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2019; 140:275-282. [PMID: 31265122 DOI: 10.1111/acps.13069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate the longitudinal relationship between subclinical psychotic symptoms and social functioning in a representative general population sample of adolescents. METHOD Data were derived from a routine general health screening of 1909 adolescents in a circumscribed region. Baseline measurement was in the second grade of secondary school (T0), and follow-up occurred approximately 2 years later (T1). Social functioning and subclinical psychotic symptoms of hallucinations and delusions were assessed at both time points. RESULTS Baseline (T0) social problems preceded follow-up (T1) subclinical delusions, but not T1 subclinical hallucinations. Similarly, T0 delusions preceded social problems at T1, but T0 hallucinations did not. CONCLUSION This longitudinal general population study demonstrated a bidirectional association between social problems and delusions, but found no link between social problems and hallucinations. This may reflect a downward negative spiral where delusional thoughts and social problems reinforce each other.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Heins
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, University College Maastricht, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - R Achterhof
- Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Research Group Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - D Collip
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - W Viechtbauer
- Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Research Group Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - O J Kirtley
- Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Research Group Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - N Gunther
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.,Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, the Netherlands
| | - J van Os
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.,Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.,Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, King's Health Partners, King's College London, London, UK
| | - F Feron
- Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Social Medicine, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - I Myin-Germeys
- Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Research Group Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Les troubles de comportement durant l’enfance et l’adolescence des schizophrènes : étude rétrospective. Encephale 2019; 45:221-225. [DOI: 10.1016/j.encep.2018.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2018] [Revised: 08/27/2018] [Accepted: 09/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Mike L, Guimond S, Kelly S, Thermenos H, Mesholam-Gately R, Eack S, Keshavan M. Social cognition in early course of schizophrenia: Exploratory factor analysis. Psychiatry Res 2019; 272:737-743. [PMID: 30832194 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2018] [Revised: 12/06/2018] [Accepted: 12/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Social cognition is a central contributor to social functioning in schizophrenia. A better understanding of the underlying structure of social cognition in the early course schizophrenia could help us identify more precise targets for intervention in this population. In the present study, we performed an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) on 90 patients within the early course of schizophrenia using 11 validated subtests assessing various domains of social cognitive skills. The factors derived from this analysis were then used to investigate relationships between these distinct domains of social cognition skills and neurocognitive performance, clinical symptoms, and social functioning satisfaction. The results revealed the presence of a 3-factor solution, representing the domains of Emotion Management, Emotion Recognition, and Theory of Mind, together accounting for 55.88% of the variance. Moreover, higher scores on the Theory of Mind factor were significantly related to higher social functioning satisfaction measures as well as with lower clinical symptoms severity. Our findings suggest that social cognitive skills are composed of three separate domains in the early course of schizophrenia and that theory of mind could be an important therapeutic target for early intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke Mike
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Synthia Guimond
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Sinead Kelly
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Heidi Thermenos
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Shaun Eack
- School of Social Work and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Matcheri Keshavan
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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Eddy CM. Social cognition and self-other distinctions in neuropsychiatry: Insights from schizophrenia and Tourette syndrome. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2018; 82:69-85. [PMID: 29195921 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.11.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2017] [Revised: 11/16/2017] [Accepted: 11/27/2017] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Impairments in social cognition may reflect dysfunction of disorder specific or disorder general mechanisms. Although cross-disorder comparison may prove insightful, few studies have compared social cognition in different neuropsychiatric disorders. Parallel investigation of schizophrenia and Tourette syndrome (TS) is encouraged by similarities including the presence of problematic social behavior, echophenomena, emotional dysregulation and dopamine dysfunction. Focusing on tests of social cognition administered in both disorders, this review aims to summarize behavioral, neurophysiological and neuroimaging findings, before exploring how these may contribute to clinical symptoms. Studies investigating social cognition (imitation, emotion recognition, and understanding of beliefs or intentions) in patients with schizophrenia or TS were identified through Web of Science and PubMed searches. Although findings indicate that social cognitive deficits are more apparent in schizophrenia, adults with TS can exhibit similar task performance to patients with paranoia. In both disorders, behavioral and neuroimaging findings raise the possibility of increased internal simulation of others' actions and emotions, in combination with a relative under-application of mentalizing. More specifically, dysfunction in neurobiological substrates such as temporo-parietal junction and inferior frontal gyrus may underlie problems with self-other distinctions in both schizophrenia and TS. Difficulties in distinguishing between actions and mental states linked to the self and other may contribute to a range of psychiatric symptoms, including emotional dysregulation, paranoia, social anhedonia and socially disruptive urges. Comparing different patient populations could therefore reveal common neuro-cognitive risk factors for the development of problematic social behaviors, in addition to markers of resilience, coping strategies and potential neuro-compensation mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare M Eddy
- BSMHFT National Centre for Mental Health, Birmingham, and College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK.
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Dewangan RL, Singh P, Mahapatra T, Mahapatra S. Demographic and Clinical Correlates of Social Cognition in Schizophrenia: Observation from India. Indian J Psychol Med 2018; 40:143-155. [PMID: 29962571 PMCID: PMC6009002 DOI: 10.4103/ijpsym.ijpsym_156_17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Although deficits in social cognition (SC) had been recognized as a hallmark of schizophrenia, quality data in Indian context were limited. The purpose of the current research was to determine the demographic and clinical correlates of SC in schizophrenia. METHODS Between February 2014 and January 2015, a case-control study was conducted in Chhattisgarh, India, among 100 paranoid schizophrenia patients (ICD-10) from two psychiatric hospitals and 100 neighborhood-based healthy (28-item General Health Questionnaire) controls. After obtaining signed consent, SC was assessed among 20-35-year-old, high school or more educated subjects ensuring eligibility for appropriate scales. RESULTS Patients had poorer social knowledge (adjusted-beta-coefficient [AC] = -4.89 [-6.32, -3.45]) and lower predicted mean score for internal attribution of negative event (AC: -0.72 [-1.17, -0.27]). Nonrecognition of facial expressions especially for anger (adjusted-odds-ratio [AOR] = 3.50 [1.17, 10.51]), surprise (AOR = 2.91 [1.36, 6.25]) and fear (AOR = 2.35 [1.11, 5.01]) was more common among cases. Wrong recognition of expressions was less likely among females (for surprise: AOR = 0.35 [0.13, 0.93]) and educated (for sadness: AOR = 0.11 [0.02, 0.58]) but more common among wealthy (for surprise: AOR = 4.58 [1.22, 17.19]) and urban (for fear: unadjusted odds ratios = 4.30 [1.53, 12.03]) subjects. If recognized expressions correctly, females were more likely to perceive higher intensity of anger (AOR = 4.30 [1.80, 10.29]) and happiness (AOR = 4.22 [1.66, 10.72]). Higher intensity was perceived by more educated subjects regarding anger (AOR = 2.57 [1.04, 6.34]) but not for happiness (AOR = 0.09 [0.01, 0.79]). Unmarried/divorced/separated perceived happiness (AOR = 2.86 [1.02, 7.97]) with more intensity while those in joint families perceived sadness (AOR = 2.80 [1.22, 6.41]) and fear (AOR = 2.28 [1.01, 5.16]) with more intensity. CONCLUSION A significant impairment in SC was observed among paranoid schizophrenia cases in Chhattisgarh, India. Intervention and further research addressing identified issues of SC need to target specific subpopulations, among schizophrenia patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roshan Lal Dewangan
- School of Study (in Psychology), Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India
| | - Promila Singh
- School of Study (in Psychology), Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India
| | - Tanmay Mahapatra
- Mission Arogya Health and Information Technology Research Foundation, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| | - Sanchita Mahapatra
- Mission Arogya Health and Information Technology Research Foundation, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
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Ray D, Roy D, Sindhu B, Sharan P, Banerjee A. Neural Substrate of Group Mental Health: Insights from Multi-Brain Reference Frame in Functional Neuroimaging. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1627. [PMID: 29033866 PMCID: PMC5625015 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2017] [Accepted: 09/04/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Contemporary mental health practice primarily centers around the neurobiological and psychological processes at the individual level. However, a more careful consideration of interpersonal and other group-level attributes (e.g., interpersonal relationship, mutual trust/hostility, interdependence, and cooperation) and a better grasp of their pathology can add a crucial dimension to our understanding of mental health problems. A few recent studies have delved into the interpersonal behavioral processes in the context of different psychiatric abnormalities. Neuroimaging can supplement these approaches by providing insight into the neurobiology of interpersonal functioning. Keeping this view in mind, we discuss a recently developed approach in functional neuroimaging that calls for a shift from a focus on neural information contained within brain space to a multi-brain framework exploring degree of similarity/dissimilarity of neural signals between multiple interacting brains. We hypothesize novel applications of quantitative neuroimaging markers like inter-subject correlation that might be able to evaluate the role of interpersonal attributes affecting an individual or a group. Empirical evidences of the usage of these markers in understanding the neurobiology of social interactions are provided to argue for their application in future mental health research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dipanjan Ray
- Cognitive Brain Lab, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, India
| | - Dipanjan Roy
- Cognitive Brain Lab, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, India
| | - Brahmdeep Sindhu
- Department of Psychiatry, Gurgaon Civil Hospital, Gurgaon, India
| | - Pratap Sharan
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
| | - Arpan Banerjee
- Cognitive Brain Lab, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, India
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10
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Stegmayer K, Moor J, Vanbellingen T, Bohlhalter S, Müri RM, Strik W, Walther S. Gesture Performance in First- and Multiple-Episode Patients with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders. Neuropsychobiology 2017; 73:201-8. [PMID: 27229523 DOI: 10.1159/000446116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2015] [Accepted: 04/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM Gesturing plays an important role in social behavior and social learning. Deficits are frequent in schizophrenia and may contribute to impaired social functioning. Information about deficits during the course of the disease and presence of severity and patterns of impairment in first-episode patients is missing. Hence, we aimed to investigate gesturing in first- compared to multiple-episode schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. METHODS In 14 first-episode patients, 14 multiple-episode patients and 16 healthy controls matched for age, gender and education, gesturing was assessed by the comprehensive Test of Upper Limb Apraxia. Performance in two domains of gesturing - imitation and pantomime - was recorded on video. Raters of gesture performance were blinded. RESULTS Patients with multiple episodes had severe gestural deficits. For almost all gesture categories, performance was worse in multiple- than in first-episode patients. First-episode patients demonstrated subtle deficits with a comparable pattern. CONCLUSIONS Subjects with multiple psychotic episodes have severe deficits in gesturing, while only mild impairments were found in first-episode patients independent of age, gender, education and negative symptoms. The results indicate that gesturing is impaired at the onset of disease and likely to further deteriorate during its course.
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11
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Via E, Orfila C, Pedreño C, Rovira A, Menchón JM, Cardoner N, Palao DJ, Soriano-Mas C, Obiols JE. Structural alterations of the pyramidal pathway in schizoid and schizotypal cluster A personality disorders. Int J Psychophysiol 2016; 110:163-170. [PMID: 27535345 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2016] [Revised: 07/21/2016] [Accepted: 08/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
AIM Schizoid (ScPD) and Schizotypal (SPD) personality disorders are rare and severe disorders. They are associated with high liability to schizophrenia and present an attenuated form of its negative symptoms, which are considered a putative endophenotype for schizophrenia. The trans-diagnostic study of negative symptoms in non-psychotic populations such as ScPD/SPD might provide useful markers of a negative-symptom domain; however, little is known about their neurobiological substrates. The aim of the study was to investigate differences in gray and white matter volumes in subjects with ScPD/SPD compared to a group of healthy controls. METHODS Structural magnetic resonance images were obtained from 20 never-psychotic subjects with ScPD/SPD and 28 healthy controls. Resulting values from clusters of differences were correlated in patients with relevant clinical variables (O-LIFE scale). RESULTS ScPD/SPD presented greater bilateral white matter volume compared to healthy controls in the superior part of the corona radiata, close to motor/premotor regions, which correlated with the O-LIFE subtest of cognitive disorganization. No differences were found in regional gray matter or global gray/white matter volumes. CONCLUSION Greater volumes in motor pathways might relate to cognitive symptoms and motor alterations commonly present in schizophrenia-related disorders. Given the established link between motor signs and psychosis, structural alterations in motor pathways are suggested as a putative biomarker of a negative-symptom domain in psychosis subject to further testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther Via
- Bellvitge University Hospital, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Mental Health, Parc Taulí Sabadell-CIBERSAM, University Hospital, Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carles Orfila
- Bellvitge University Hospital, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carla Pedreño
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Antoni Rovira
- UDIAT Diagnostic Center, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Spain
| | - José M Menchón
- Bellvitge University Hospital, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain
| | - Narcís Cardoner
- Mental Health, Parc Taulí Sabadell-CIBERSAM, University Hospital, Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain; UDIAT Diagnostic Center, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Spain; Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Diego J Palao
- Mental Health, Parc Taulí Sabadell-CIBERSAM, University Hospital, Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carles Soriano-Mas
- Bellvitge University Hospital, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain; Department of Psychobiology and Methodology of Health Sciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Jordi E Obiols
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.
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12
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Offspring of Parents with Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review of Developmental Features Across Childhood. Harv Rev Psychiatry 2016; 24:104-17. [PMID: 26954595 DOI: 10.1097/hrp.0000000000000076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
A significant body of longitudinal research has followed the offspring of parents with schizophrenia. This article presents a systematic review of 46 separate papers presenting the results of 18 longitudinal studies that have followed children who are at familial high risk of developing psychotic disorders. The studies suggest that these children do show distinct developmental patterns characterized by higher rates of obstetric complication, neurodevelopmental features such as motor and cognitive deficits, and distinctive social behavior. This review summarizes those findings according to child developmental stages. Twelve of the studies followed offspring into adulthood and examined psychiatric diagnoses. From 15% to 40% of children at familial high risk developed psychotic disorders in adulthood. Many also received other psychiatric diagnoses such as mood or anxiety disorders. This combination of results suggests that offspring of parents with schizophrenia are at high risk not just for schizophrenia but, more broadly, for poor developmental and general mental health outcomes. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed, as are new prognostic strategies and potential programs for selective prevention.
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13
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Interpersonal sensitivity and functioning impairment in youth at ultra-high risk for psychosis. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2016; 25:7-16. [PMID: 25711287 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-015-0692-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2014] [Accepted: 02/06/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
A personality trait that often elicits poor and uneasy interpersonal relationships is interpersonal sensitivity. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between interpersonal sensitivity and psychosocial functioning in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis as compared to help-seeking individuals who screened negative for an ultra-high risk of psychosis. A total sample of 147 adolescents and young adult who were help seeking for emerging mental health problems participated in the study. The sample was divided into two groups: 39 individuals who met criteria for an ultra-high-risk mental state (UHR), and 108 (NS). The whole sample completed the Interpersonal Sensitivity Measure (IPSM) and the Global Functioning: Social and Role Scale (GF:SS; GF:RS). Mediation analysis was used to explore whether attenuated negative symptoms mediated the relationship between interpersonal sensitivity and social functioning. Individuals with UHR state showed higher IPSM scores and lower GF:SS and GF:RS scores than NS participants. A statistically negative significant correlation between two IPSM subscales (Interpersonal Awareness and Timidity) and GF:SS was found in both groups. Our results also suggest that the relationship between the aforementioned aspects of interpersonal sensitivity and social functioning was not mediated by negative prodromal symptoms. This study suggests that some aspects of interpersonal sensitivity were associated with low level of social functioning. Assessing and treating interpersonal sensitivity may be a promising therapeutic target to improve social functioning in young help-seeking individuals.
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14
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Factors contributing to social cognition impairment in borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 2015; 229:872-9. [PMID: 26257087 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2015.07.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2014] [Revised: 06/03/2015] [Accepted: 07/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Social cognition (SC) deficits have been described both in patients with schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, while the former tend towards simplistic mental state attributions (undermentalizing), the latter are more likely to make overly complex mental state inferences (overmentalizing). Performance on complex SC tasks has been shown to correlate with neurocognitive ability, emotion perception, a history of trauma, and overconfidence in errors. However, it is unclear how these factors relate to different aspects of SC deficits. Aim of the present study was to examine the pathways of SC impairment by investigating performance profiles and their predictors comparatively in BPD and schizophrenia. Participants were 44 patients with BPD, 36 patients with schizophrenia, and 38 healthy controls. Undermentalizing and overmentalizing were assessed with an ecologically valid SC task. Patients with BPD exhibited increased overmentalizing, whereas patients with schizophrenia showed a more extensive deficit pattern, their main error type being undermentalizing. Overconfidence in errors was the most important predictor for overmentalizing, while undermentalizing depended mainly on verbal memory and emotion perception. Thus, BPD und schizophrenia exhibited different SC impairment patterns, and different types of SC errors were predicted by different factors. These findings have implications for the optimization of treatment approaches.
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15
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Emotional perception and theory of mind in first episode psychosis: the role of obsessive-compulsive symptomatology. Psychiatry Res 2014; 220:112-7. [PMID: 25130778 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2014.07.058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2013] [Revised: 07/12/2014] [Accepted: 07/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of comorbid obsessive-compulsive symptoms on emotional perception and theory of mind (ToM) in patients with first-episode psychosis. Participants were 65 patients with non-affective first episode psychosis (FEP) and 47 healthy controls. The patient group was divided into two subgroups, those with (FEP+; n=38) and those without obsessive-compulsive symptomatology (FEP-; n=27). Emotion perception and ToM were assessed with the Perception of Social Inference Test. Severity of psychotic and obsessive-compulsive symptoms was assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), respectively. Deficits in emotion recognition and theory of mind were confirmed in patients with non-affective first-episode psychosis compared to healthy controls. In patients, comorbidity with obsessive-compulsive symptoms was associated with worse performance on certain aspects of social cognition (ToM 2nd order) compared to FEP- patients. Our findings of impaired emotion perception and ToM in patients with first-episode psychosis support the hypothesis that deficits are already present at illness onset. Presence of OCS appears to have further deleterious effects on social cognition, suggesting that these patients may belong to a schizo-obsessive subtype of schizophrenia characterized by more extensive neurobiological impairment.
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16
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Abstract
AbstractObjective: To explore the relationship between social skills and depressive symptoms in a normal young adolescent population.Method: An all male group of 85 schoolchildren, in the first year of secondary school, completed self-report instruments to measure the constructs of depression and of social skills. The Depression Self-Rating Scale (DSRS) and the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY) were the instruments used.Result. Regression analysis of the factor scores on the MESSY and the total score on the DSRS revealed a significant, negative relationship. This was particularly so for the jealousy/withdrawal factor (Factor V) on the MESSY (f = 27.323; p < 0.001)Conclusion: The data provide support for the social skills deficit model of depression and indicate the possible role of fostering pro-social behaviours and promoting social skills enhancement in the vulnerable young adolescent.
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17
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Dodell-Feder D, DeLisi LE, Hooker CI. The relationship between default mode network connectivity and social functioning in individuals at familial high-risk for schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2014; 156:87-95. [PMID: 24768131 PMCID: PMC4082024 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2014.03.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2014] [Revised: 03/24/2014] [Accepted: 03/27/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Unaffected first-degree relatives of individuals with schizophrenia (i.e., those at familial high-risk [FHR]), demonstrate social dysfunction qualitatively similar though less severe than that of their affected relatives. These social difficulties may be the consequence of genetically conferred disruption to aspects of the default mode network (DMN), such as the dMPFC subsystem, which overlaps with the network of brain regions recruited during social cognitive processes. In the present study, we investigate this possibility, testing DMN connectivity and its relationship to social functioning in FHR using resting-state fMRI. Twenty FHR individuals and 17 controls underwent fMRI during a resting-state scan. Hypothesis-driven functional connectivity analyses examined ROI-to-ROI correlations between the DMN's hubs, and regions of the dMPFC subsystem and MTL subsystem. Connectivity values were examined in relationship to a measure of social functioning and empathy/perspective-taking. Results demonstrate that FHR exhibit reduced connectivity specifically within the dMPFC subsystem of the DMN. Certain ROI-to-ROI correlations predicted aspects of social functioning and empathy/perspective-taking across all participants. Together, the data indicate that disruption to the dMPFC subsystem of the DMN may be associated with familial risk for schizophrenia, and that these intrinsic connections may carry measurable consequences for social functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lynn E. DeLisi
- Boston VA Medical Center, Brockton, MA 02301 USA,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215 USA
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18
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Dodell-Feder D, DeLisi LE, Hooker CI. Neural disruption to theory of mind predicts daily social functioning in individuals at familial high-risk for schizophrenia. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2014; 9:1914-25. [PMID: 24396009 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nst186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Theory-of-mind (ToM) ability is foundational for successful social relationships, and dependent on a neurocognitive system, which includes temporoparietal junction and medial prefrontal cortex. Schizophrenia is associated with ToM impairments, and initial studies demonstrate similar, though more subtle deficits, in unaffected first-degree relatives, indicating that ToM deficits are a potential biomarker for the disorder. Importantly, the social consequences of ToM deficits could create an additional vulnerability factor for individuals at familial high risk (FHR). However, behavioral studies of ToM are inconsistent and virtually nothing is known about the neural basis of ToM in FHR or the relationship between ToM and social functioning. Here, FHR and non-FHR control participants underwent functional MRI scanning while reasoning about a story character's thoughts, emotions or physical appearance. Afterwards, participants completed a 28-day online 'daily-diary' questionnaire in which they reported daily social interactions and degree of ToM reasoning. FHR participants demonstrated less neural activity in bilateral temporoparietal junction when reasoning about thoughts and emotions. Moreover, across all participants, the degree of neural activity during ToM reasoning predicted several aspects of daily social behavior. Results suggest that vulnerability for schizophrenia is associated with neurocognitive deficits in ToM and the degree of deficit is related to day-to-day social functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Dodell-Feder
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA, Boston VA Medical Center, Brockton, MA 02301, USA and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Lynn E DeLisi
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA, Boston VA Medical Center, Brockton, MA 02301, USA and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA, Boston VA Medical Center, Brockton, MA 02301, USA and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Christine I Hooker
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA, Boston VA Medical Center, Brockton, MA 02301, USA and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
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19
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Das UN. Polyunsaturated fatty acids and their metabolites in the pathobiology of schizophrenia. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2013; 42:122-34. [PMID: 22735394 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2012.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2011] [Revised: 05/27/2012] [Accepted: 06/13/2012] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia can be considered as a low-grade systemic inflammatory disease with its origins in the perinatal period. It is likely that genetic, environmental, and nutritional factors interact to induce excess production of pro-inflammatory cytokines that, in turn, damage fetal neurons leading to the adult onset of schizophrenia. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and their metabolites such as lipoxins, resolvins, protectins, maresins and nitrolipids not only have potent neuroprotective action but also are capable of inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Decreased formation of PUFAs as a result of low activity of Δ(6) and Δ(5) desaturases can result in an increase in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines due to the absence of negative control exerted by PUFAs and their anti-inflammatory metabolites that, in turn, may predispose to neuronal damage and development of schizophrenia in adult life. Furthermore, PUFAs are essential for brain growth and development. If this proposal is correct, this implies that perinatal and adult supplementation of PUFAs not only prevents but also helps in the treatment of schizophrenia. Furthermore, synthetic analogs of lipoxins, resolvins, and protectins may be of significant benefit in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Undurti N Das
- UND Life Sciences, 13800 Fairhill Road, Shaker Heights, OH 44120, USA.
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20
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Collip D, Wigman JTW, Lin A, Nelson B, Oorschot M, Vollebergh WAM, Ryan J, Baksheev G, Wichers M, van Os J, Myin-Germeys I, Yung AR. Dynamic association between interpersonal functioning and positive symptom dimensions of psychosis over time: a longitudinal study of healthy adolescents. Schizophr Bull 2013; 39:179-85. [PMID: 21930645 PMCID: PMC3523924 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbr115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cross-sectional studies have indicated that alterations in social functioning, particularly interpersonal functioning, are associated with the occurrence of psychotic symptoms and experiences at different levels of the extended psychosis phenotype (ranging from population psychometric expression of liability to overt psychotic disorder). However, more research is needed on the development of this association over time. METHODS Cross-lagged path modeling was used to analyze bidirectional, longitudinal associations between 4 dimensions of subclinical psychotic experiences (persecutory ideation, bizarre experiences, perceptual abnormalities, and magical thinking) and interpersonal functioning in an adolescent general population sample (N = 881 at T1, N = 652 at T2, and N = 512 at T3) assessed 3 times in 3 years. RESULTS All symptom dimensions showed some association with interpersonal functioning over time, but only bizarre experiences and persecutory ideation were consistently and longitudinally associated with interpersonal functioning. Poorer interpersonal functioning predicted higher levels of bizarre experiences and persecutory ideation at later measurement points (both T1 to T2 and T2 to T3). CONCLUSIONS Poor interpersonal functioning in adolescence may reflect the earliest expression of neurodevelopmental alterations preceding expression of psychotic experiences in a symptom-specific fashion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dina Collip
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center, PO Box 616 (DRT 10), 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands.
| | - Johanna T. W. Wigman
- Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, University of Utrecht, PO Box 80.140, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands,†These authors share first authorship of this article
| | - Ashleigh Lin
- Orygen Youth Health Research Center and Center for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 35 Poplar Road, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia,School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Barnaby Nelson
- Orygen Youth Health Research Center and Center for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 35 Poplar Road, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Margreet Oorschot
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center, PO Box 616 (DRT 10), 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Wilma A. M. Vollebergh
- Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, University of Utrecht, PO Box 80.140, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Jaymee Ryan
- Orygen Youth Health Research Center and Center for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 35 Poplar Road, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Gennedy Baksheev
- Orygen Youth Health Research Center and Center for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 35 Poplar Road, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Marieke Wichers
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center, PO Box 616 (DRT 10), 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Jim van Os
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center, PO Box 616 (DRT 10), 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands,Department of Psychosis Studies, King's College London, King's Health Partners, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Inez Myin-Germeys
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center, PO Box 616 (DRT 10), 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Alison R. Yung
- Orygen Youth Health Research Center and Center for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 35 Poplar Road, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
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21
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Agnew-Blais J, Seidman LJ. Neurocognition in youth and young adults under age 30 at familial risk for schizophrenia: a quantitative and qualitative review. Cogn Neuropsychiatry 2013; 18:44-82. [PMID: 22998599 PMCID: PMC3577989 DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2012.676309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 121] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Neurocognitive dysfunction is a central feature of schizophrenia and is observed during all phases of the illness. Because schizophrenia is known to run in families, studying neurocognitive function in first-degree, nonpsychotic relatives has been a widely utilised strategy for almost 50 years for understanding presumed "genetic risk". Studying nonpsychotic relatives ("familial high-risk", or FHR) allows for identification of cognitive vulnerability markers independent of confounds associated with psychosis. METHODS Prior meta-analyses have elucidated the level and pattern of cognitive deficits in the premorbid, prodromal, and postonset periods of psychosis, and in relatives regardless of age. However, no prior quantitative analyses have specifically focused on studies of young first-degree relatives of individuals with schizophrenia who have not passed through the peak age illness risk (<age 30). The English language literature of neuropsychological studies of first-degree relatives for schizophrenia was identified up to 15 May 2011. RESULTS From 33 studies, 28 studies met our criteria for quantitative review, utilising >70 individual tests and 250 variables. CONCLUSIONS In general, young FHR individuals demonstrated deficits with a moderate level of severity compared with healthy controls. The largest average effect sizes (ESs), based on tests given in at least three independent studies, were on estimates of Full Scale IQ (d= -0.777), followed by Vocabulary (d= -0.749) and single word reading tests (d= -0.698) (often used as estimates of IQ). Measures of declarative memory, sustained attention, working memory and others had more modest ESs. Deficits were milder than in established schizophrenia, but often as severe as in clinical high-risk or putatively prodromal participants and in older relatives examined in prior meta-analyses. Additionally, while assessed from a more limited literature, youth at FHR for schizophrenia tended to show worse neurocognitive functioning than those at FHR for affective psychosis. This suggests that genetic risk for schizophrenia as reflected in a positive FHR carries an especially heavy impact on cognitive ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Agnew-Blais
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
| | - Larry J. Seidman
- Massachusetts Mental Health Center Public Psychiatry Division of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry, Boston, Massachusetts 02115,Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry, Boston, Massachusetts 02114,Correspondence: Larry J. Seidman, Ph.D., Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Commonwealth, Research Center, 5th floor, 75 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA 02115; Tel: 617-754-1238,
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22
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Abstract
Given the importance of social dysfunction in schizophrenia, many studies have explored how social cognition, and, particularly, Theory of Mind (ToM) may affect patients' social interactions. In the present study, we investigated the impact of ToM deficits on social interactions, taking into account overall neuropsychological functioning as well as clinical and demographic characteristics. We assessed 28 patients with schizophrenia and 30 healthy participants on a series of tasks including tests of ToM, neuropsychological tests focused on functions potentially relevant to ToM and role plays as an indicator of social interactions. Patients performed more poorly than healthy controls across most ToM and some of the neuropsychological tests. Correlations and hierarchical regression analyses indicated the impact of some, but not all, facets of ToM on patients' social interactions, over and above neuropsychological functioning, positive and negative symptom ratings, duration of illness and demographic characteristics. These findings suggest that remediation of ToM deficits in patients with schizophrenia may help to improve their social interactions.
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23
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Barbour T, Murphy E, Pruitt P, Eickhoff SB, Keshavan MS, Rajan U, Zajac-Benitez C, Diwadkar VA. Reduced intra-amygdala activity to positively valenced faces in adolescent schizophrenia offspring. Schizophr Res 2010; 123:126-36. [PMID: 20716480 PMCID: PMC3174012 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2010.07.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2010] [Revised: 07/21/2010] [Accepted: 07/23/2010] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Studies suggest that the affective response is impaired in both schizophrenia and adolescent offspring of schizophrenia patients. Adolescent offspring of patients are developmentally vulnerable to impairments in several domains, including affective responding, yet the bases of these impairments and their relation to neuronal responses within the limbic system are poorly understood. The amygdala is the central region devoted to the processing of emotional valence and its sub-nuclei including the baso-lateral and centro-medial are organized in a relative hierarchy of affective processing. Outputs from the centro-medial nucleus converge on regions involved in the autonomous regulation of behavior, and outputs from the baso-lateral nucleus modulate the response of reward processing regions. Here using fMRI we assessed the intra-amygdala response to positive, negative, and neutral valenced faces in a group of controls (with no family history of psychosis) and offspring of schizophrenia parents (n=44 subjects in total). Subjects performed an affective continuous performance task during which they continually appraised whether the affect signaled by a face on a given trial was the same or different from the previous trial (regardless of facial identity). Relative to controls, offspring showed reduced activity in the left centro-medial nucleus to positively (but not negatively or neutral) valenced faces. These results were independent of behavioral/cognitive performance (equal across groups) suggesting that an impaired affective substrate in the intra-amygdala response may lie at the core of deficits of social behavior that have been documented in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracy Barbour
- Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, Wayne State University SOM
| | - Eric Murphy
- Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, Wayne State University SOM
| | - Patrick Pruitt
- Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, Wayne State University SOM
| | - Simon B. Eickhoff
- Institut für Neurowissenschaften und Biophysik Medizin, Forschungszentrum Juelich, Juelich, Germany,Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, School of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Matcheri S. Keshavan
- Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, Wayne State University SOM,Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center, Harvard Medical School
| | - Usha Rajan
- Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, Wayne State University SOM
| | | | - Vaibhav A. Diwadkar
- Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, Wayne State University SOM,Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh SOM
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Keshavan MS, Kulkarni S, Bhojraj T, Francis A, Diwadkar V, Montrose DM, Seidman LJ, Sweeney J. Premorbid cognitive deficits in young relatives of schizophrenia patients. Front Hum Neurosci 2010; 3:62. [PMID: 20300465 PMCID: PMC2839849 DOI: 10.3389/neuro.09.062.2009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2009] [Accepted: 11/20/2009] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurocognitive deficits in schizophrenia (SZ) are thought to be stable trait markers that predate the illness and manifest in relatives of patients. Adolescence is the age of maximum vulnerability to the onset of SZ and may be an opportune "window" to observe neurocognitive impairments close to but prior to the onset of psychosis. We reviewed the extant studies assessing neurocognitive deficits in young relatives at high risk (HR) for SZ and their relation to brain structural alterations. We also provide some additional data pertaining to the relation of these deficits to psychopathology and brain structural alterations from the Pittsburgh Risk Evaluation Program (PREP). Cognitive deficits are noted in the HR population, which are more severe in first-degree relatives compared to second-degree relatives and primarily involve psychomotor speed, memory, attention, reasoning, and social-cognition. Reduced general intelligence is also noted, although its relationship to these specific domains is underexplored. Premorbid cognitive deficits may be related to brain structural and functional abnormalities, underlining the neurobiological basis of this illness. Cognitive impairments might predict later emergence of psychopathology in at-risk subjects and may be targets of early remediation and preventive strategies. Although evidence for neurocognitive deficits in young relatives abounds, further studies on their structural underpinnings and on their candidate status as endophenotypes are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matcheri S Keshavan
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA, USA
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25
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Neurodevelopmental factors associated with schizotypal symptoms among adolescents at risk for schizophrenia. Dev Psychopathol 2009; 21:1195-210. [DOI: 10.1017/s0954579409990113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
AbstractSchizophrenia has come to be viewed as a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by genetic vulnerability, stressors during the prenatal period that may be marked by minor physical anomalies and neurobehavioral deficits that emerge in early development. Less is known about the neurodevelopmental origins of schizotypal personality symptoms. The present study examines schizotypal symptoms in Israeli adolescents (mean age = 16.79 years) who have not yet reached the developmental period during which first schizophrenic episode is most likely to emerge: 39 adolescent offspring of parents with schizophrenia, 39 offspring of parents with other psychiatric disorders, and 36 offspring of parents with no history of mental illness. The Semi-Structured Kiddie Interview for Personality Syndromes was used to assess cognitive–perceptual, interpersonal, and disorganized schizotypal symptoms. Interpersonal schizotypal symptoms were more prevalent in the schizophrenia offspring group than in the no-mental-illness offspring group. Among the schizophrenia offspring group, interpersonal, but not cognitive–perceptual, schizotypal symptoms were associated with minor physical anomalies, fine motor dyscoordination, and deficits in executive functioning during adolescence. Among young people whose parents did not have schizophrenia, cognitive–perceptual schizotypal symptoms were correlated with deficits in executive functioning. Adolescent schizotypal symptoms were associated with neurobehavioral symptoms measured during middle childhood in a subgroup of the sample that had been assessed prospectively. Finally, young people who had genetic risk for schizophrenia, minor physical anomalies, and neurobehavioral signs together were at markedly increased risk for symptoms of interpersonal schizotypal symptoms, compared to young people with one or none of these risk factors.
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26
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Philips B. Young adults re‐enacting in psychotherapy their relationship with a mentally disturbed parent. PSYCHOANALYTIC PSYCHOTHERAPY 2008. [DOI: 10.1080/02668730802323536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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27
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Berenbaum H, Kerns JG, Vernon LL, Gomez JJ. Cognitive correlates of schizophrenia signs and symptoms: II. Emotional disturbances. Psychiatry Res 2008; 159:157-62. [PMID: 18423613 PMCID: PMC2581736 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2007.08.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2005] [Revised: 04/10/2006] [Accepted: 08/16/2007] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
We examined the cognitive and motor correlates of emotional disturbances in 47 schizophrenia spectrum individuals. Neither affective flattening nor anhedonia was significantly associated with tasks measuring working memory or attention/concentration, or with overall performance on tasks measuring fluency or episodic memory. In contrast, as expected, emotional disturbances were associated with patterns of hemispheric lateralization. Affective flattening and anhedonia were both associated with episodic memory laterality and there were similar trends with motor laterality. Anhedonia was also associated with medication motor side effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Howard Berenbaum
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA.
| | - John G. Kerns
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
| | - Laura L. Vernon
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
| | - Jose J. Gomez
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Wan MW, Abel KM, Green J. The transmission of risk to children from mothers with schizophrenia: A developmental psychopathology model. Clin Psychol Rev 2008; 28:613-37. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2007.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2007] [Revised: 08/30/2007] [Accepted: 09/12/2007] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
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Harvey PD, Velligan DI, Bellack AS. Performance-based measures of functional skills: usefulness in clinical treatment studies. Schizophr Bull 2007; 33:1138-48. [PMID: 17493956 PMCID: PMC2632366 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbm040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 168] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Recently, attention to the assessment and treatment of functional disability has increased notably. It is widely understood that impairments in everyday living skills, including independent living skills, social functions, vocational functioning, and self-care, are present in people with schizophrenia. It has also become clear recently that assessment of these skills can pose substantial challenges. These challenges include selection of meaningful short-term outcome measures and avoiding bias and reduced validity in the data. Self-report, direct observation, and informant reports of everyday disability all have certain advantages but appear to be inferior to direct assessment of skills with performance-based measures. This review outlines the issues associated with the assessment of functional skills and everyday functioning and provides a description of the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches. We conclude that direct assessment of functional capacity has substantial advantages over other measures and may actually provide a more direct and valid estimate of functional disability than performance on the more distal neuropsychological assessment measures.
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Mittal VA, Tessner KD, Walker EF. Elevated social Internet use and schizotypal personality disorder in adolescents. Schizophr Res 2007; 94:50-7. [PMID: 17532188 PMCID: PMC2323598 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2007.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2007] [Revised: 03/29/2007] [Accepted: 04/05/2007] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION In the past decade, the use of the Internet as a forum for communication has exponentially increased, and research indicates that excessive use is associated with psychiatric symptoms. The present study examined the rate of Internet use in adolescents with personality disorders, with a focus on schizotypal personality disorder (SPD), which is characterized by marked interpersonal deficits. Because the Internet provides an easily accessible forum for anonymous social interaction and constitutes an environment where communication is less likely to be hampered by interpersonal deficits, it was hypothesized that SPD youth will spend significantly more time engaging in social activities on the Internet than controls. METHODS Self-reports of daily Internet use in adolescents with SPD (n=19), a control group with other personality disorders (n=22) and a non-psychiatric control group (n=28) were collected. RESULTS Analyses revealed that the SPD participants reported significantly less social interaction with 'real-life' friends, but used the Internet for social interaction significantly more frequently than controls. Chat room participation, cooperative Internet gaming, and to a lesser degree, e-mail use, were positively correlated with ratings of SPD symptom severity and Beck Depression Inventory scores. DISCUSSION Findings are discussed in light of the potential benefits and risks associated with Internet use by socially isolated SPD youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vijay A Mittal
- Emory University, Psychology, Department of Psychology, 235 Dental Building, 1462 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
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31
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Fogelson DL, Nuechterlein KH, Asarnow RA, Payne DL, Subotnik KL, Jacobson KC, Neale MC, Kendler KS. Avoidant personality disorder is a separable schizophrenia-spectrum personality disorder even when controlling for the presence of paranoid and schizotypal personality disorders The UCLA family study. Schizophr Res 2007; 91:192-9. [PMID: 17306508 PMCID: PMC1904485 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2006.12.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2006] [Revised: 12/21/2006] [Accepted: 12/27/2006] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
It is unresolved whether avoidant personality disorder (APD) is an independent schizophrenia (Sz)-spectrum personality disorder (PD). Some studies find APD and social anxiety symptoms (Sxs) to be separable dimensions of psychopathology in relatives (Rels) of schizophrenics while other studies find avoidant Sxs to be correlated with schizotypal and paranoid Sxs. Rates of APD among first-degree Rels of Sz probands, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) probands, and community control (CC) probands were examined. Further analyses examined rates when controlling for the presence of schizotypal (SPD) and paranoid (PPD) personality disorders, differences in APD Sxs between relative groups, and whether APD in Rels of Szs reflects a near miss for another Sz-spectrum PD. Three hundred sixty-two first-degree Rels of Sz probands, 201 relatives of ADHD probands, and 245 Rels of CC probands were interviewed for the presence of DSM-III-R Axis I and II disorders. Diagnoses, integrating family history, interview information, and medical records, were determined. APD occurred more frequently in Rels of Sz probands compared to CC probands (p<0.001) and also when controlling for SPD and PPD (p<0.005). Two Sxs of APD were most characteristic of the Rels of Sz probands: "avoids social or occupational activities..." and "exaggerates the potential difficulties..." 65% of the Rels of Sz probands who had diagnoses of APD were more than one criterion short of a DSM-III-R diagnosis of either SPD or PPD. This indicates that APD is a separate Sz-spectrum disorder, and not merely a sub-clinical form of SPD or PPD.
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Affiliation(s)
- D L Fogelson
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, USA.
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32
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Abstract
Deficits in a wide array of functional outcome areas (eg, social functioning, social skills, independent living skills, etc) are marked in schizophrenia. Consequently, much recent research has attempted to identify factors that may contribute to functional outcome; social cognition is one such domain. The purpose of this article is to review research examining the relationship between social cognition and functional outcome. Comprehensive searches of PsycINFO and MEDLINE/PUBMED were conducted to identify relevant published manuscripts to include in the current review. It is concluded that the relationship between social cognition and functional outcome depends on the specific domains of each construct examined; however, it can generally be concluded that there are clear and consistent relationships between aspects of functional outcome and social cognition. These findings are discussed in light of treatment implications for schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon M Couture
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #3270, Davie Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3270, USA
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Glatt SJ, Stone WS, Faraone SV, Seidman LJ, Tsuang MT. Psychopathology, personality traits and social development of young first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia. Br J Psychiatry 2006; 189:337-45. [PMID: 17012657 DOI: 10.1192/bjp.bp.105.016998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Evaluation of individuals at high genetic risk of schizophrenia is a powerful method for identifying precursors of the illness. AIMS To identify aspects of personality, psychopathology and social development that differentiate high-risk and control individuals. METHOD Adolescent and young-adult first-degree relatives (n=35) of people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and a control group (n=55) were compared on 36 measures at baseline of a longitudinal study. Measures differentiating high-risk and control participants were related to four genetic loading indices. RESULTS High-risk participants older than 17 years showed more physical anhedonia, less positive involvement with peers and more problems with peers, siblings and the opposite gender. Older high-risk individuals also were less cooperative, less self-directed and less reward-dependent. Problems with peers and the opposite gender, as well as reward dependence, were related linearly to genetic loading. CONCLUSIONS Alterations in personality traits and social development are present in high-risk individuals, and may be markers for genetic liability toward the illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen J Glatt
- Center for Behavioral Genomics, Department of Psychiatry, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 920923, USA.
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Nienow TM, Docherty NM, Cohen AS, Dinzeo TJ. Attentional dysfunction, social perception, and social competence: what is the nature of the relationship? JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2006; 115:408-417. [PMID: 16866582 DOI: 10.1037/0021-843x.115.3.408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the nature of the relationship between attentional dysfunction and social competence deficits in patients with schizophrenia. Attentional functioning, social perception, and social competence were assessed in 56 inpatients. Measures of vigilance and span of apprehension were administered to assess attentional functioning. Social perception was assessed with an audiovisual measure of affect recognition. Social competence was rated from a role-play task. Span of apprehension and auditory vigilance emerged as specific predictors of social competence. Affect recognition was tested as a mediator and a moderator of the relationship between attentional dysfunction and social competence. Affect recognition was found to moderate the relationship between span of apprehension and social competence.
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35
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Seidman LJ, Giuliano AJ, Smith CW, Stone WS, Glatt SJ, Meyer E, Faraone SV, Tsuang MT, Cornblatt B. Neuropsychological functioning in adolescents and young adults at genetic risk for schizophrenia and affective psychoses: results from the Harvard and Hillside Adolescent High Risk Studies. Schizophr Bull 2006; 32:507-24. [PMID: 16707777 PMCID: PMC2632246 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbj078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Siblings and offspring of persons with schizophrenia carry elevated genetic risk for the illness and manifest attentional and memory impairments. Because less is known about other neuropsychological functions and their specificity in adolescents, we conducted a genetic high-risk (HR) study of schizophrenia (HR-SCZ) and affective psychosis (HR-AFF). Participants (ages 12-25) were from the Harvard Adolescent High-Risk and Hillside Family studies, including 73 HR-SCZ, 18 HR-AFF, and 84 community controls (CCs) recruited in metropolitan Boston and New York. Groups were compared on overall neurocognitive functioning, 6 domains, and 13 test scores, controlling for age, parental education, and correlated data within families. The HR-SCZ group was significantly impaired overall, while the HR-AFF group demonstrated a trend toward overall impairment. HR-SCZ subjects showed significantly lower Verbal Ability (d = .73) and Executive Functioning/Working Memory (d = .47) than CCs. HR-AFF subjects showed reduced Verbal Ability (d = .64) compared to CCs. Excluding 12 CCs with a parental history of depression (without psychosis) led to larger differences between HR and CC groups across domains. Moreover, HR-SCZ and CC group differences in Verbal Memory (d = .39) and Visual-Spatial (d = .34) became statistically significant. There were no significant differences between HR-SCZ and HR-AFF groups. Data support a modest neuropsychological deficit in persons at genetic HR for psychosis, with a broader range of deficits in HR-SCZ. Future work should assess the relationship of neurocognition to adaptive functioning and possible onset of psychosis in HR samples. Ascertainment criteria for controls may markedly influence results and interpretation of group differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larry J Seidman
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Division of Public Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, USA.
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36
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Mittal VA, Tessner KD, McMillan AL, Delawalla Z, Trotman HD, Walker EF. Gesture behavior in unmedicated schizotypal adolescents. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2006; 115:351-358. [PMID: 16737399 DOI: 10.1037/0021-843x.115.2.351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Schizotypal personality disorder is characterized by interpersonal and verbal communication deficits. Despite the important role of gesture in social communication, no published reports examine the use of gesture by individuals with SPD. In this study, raters code gesture from videotaped interviews of unmedicated adolescents with SPD, other personality disorders, or no Axis II disorder. Results indicate that SPD adolescents show significantly fewer gestures but do not differ from the other groups in overall rate of movement. The findings are discussed in light of brain regions involved in dysfunction, parallels to schizophrenia, and treatment implications.
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37
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Bonnot O, Mazet P. Vulnérabilité aux schizophrénies à l'adolescence : revue de la littérature et applications cliniques. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2006. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neurenf.2005.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Abstract
Early intervention and prevention in schizophrenia is just over 10 years old. The assumption guiding this field is that intervention is likely to be most effective if it begins before psychosis sets in, ie, during the prodromal phase. Although a substantial number of prodromal treatment programs have been initiated around the world, three early programs have generated most of the intervention findings to date: Personal Assessment and Crisis Evaluation (PACE) in Australia, and the Prevention through Risk Identification, Management, and Education (PRIME) and Recognition and Prevention (RAP) programs in the USA. The data suggest that early intervention leads to a reduction in prodromal symptoms and clinical distress. However, prevention of psychosis remains an unresolved question. Other issues include defining who should be treated, with what, and when. In addition, treatment targets associated with functional disability, such as early prodromal negative symptoms and risk factors, continue to emerge. Newly identified targets, in turn, suggest the need for a variety of novel interventions and treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara A Cornblatt
- The Zucker Hillside Hospital, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Lake Success, NY, USA.
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Stone WS, Faraone SV, Seidman LJ, Olson EA, Tsuang MT. Searching for the liability to schizophrenia: concepts and methods underlying genetic high-risk studies of adolescents. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 2005; 15:403-17. [PMID: 16092907 DOI: 10.1089/cap.2005.15.403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Conceptualizations of the liability for schizophrenia help guide the development of research protocols, which, in turn, provide empirical confirmations or disconfirmations of the conceptualization's tenets. This paper focuses on a conception of liability and its relationships to genetic adolescent high-risk studies. Specifically, the derivation and nature of a proposed multidimensional syndrome of liability to schizophrenia ("schizotaxia") are outlined, followed by a representative review of features reported in previous high-risk studies that may be related to schizotaxia, and a perspective on future high-risk investigations. Overall, genetic high-risk studies generally confirm the concept of liability in the offspring of parents with schizophrenia, as expressed by deficits or abnormalities in multiple dimensions. It is concluded that high-risk studies on the liability to schizophrenia provide an important tool with which to explore the etiology and development of schizophrenia, in part by contributing to the identification and validation of specific liability syndromes.
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Affiliation(s)
- William S Stone
- Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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40
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Husky MM, Grondin OS, Swendsen JD. The relation between social behavior and negative affect in psychosis-prone individuals: an experience sampling investigation. Eur Psychiatry 2004; 19:1-7. [PMID: 14969774 DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2003.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2002] [Revised: 02/18/2003] [Accepted: 09/05/2003] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Daily social behavior and negative affect were examined in a sample of individuals with a wide spectrum of psychosis-proneness scores. Using the experience sampling method, participants were signaled five times per day for a 1-week period to provide naturalistic reports of location, activity, and social behavior. Little evidence was found for a direct association between psychosis-proneness and specific behavioral profiles, but individuals with higher scores of psychosis-proneness reported spending more time doing nothing or waiting. However, the levels of anxious and depressed moods experienced in certain social and environmental contexts were also predicted by psychosis-proneness scores. The present results indicate that psychosis-proneness was associated with an increase in anxiety when individuals were with friends and an increase in depressed mood in daily task situations such as working or studying. By contrast, psychosis-proneness predicted a decrease in depressed and anxious moods in other situations when the individual was not likely to be confronted by social contact with less known individuals, and lower anxious and depressed moods when in secure environments (in one's own home, home of family or friends). The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of understanding the expression of psychosis vulnerability and the potential reinforcement of maladaptive social behavior through operant conditioning mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde M Husky
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Clinique et Psychopathologique, Université Bordeaux 2, 3ter, Place de la Victoire, 33000 Bordeaux cedex, France
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41
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Davalos DB, Compagnon N, Heinlein S, Ross RG. Neuropsychological deficits in children associated with increased familial risk for schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2004; 67:123-30. [PMID: 14984871 DOI: 10.1016/s0920-9964(03)00187-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2002] [Revised: 05/27/2003] [Accepted: 05/29/2003] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
By studying neuropsychological performance in children genetically at-risk for schizophrenia, greater understanding may be obtained regarding the developmental processes of schizophrenia and associated cognitive weaknesses. A variety of cognitive deficits in genetically at-risk children have been reported. The present study was designed to examine cognitive tasks that have traditionally differentiated children genetically at-risk for schizophrenia (e.g. working memory) from normal children, while also assessing abilities that have received scant attention in this population. Aspects of emotional perception, verbal abilities, inhibition, visuo-spatial skills, and working memory were assessed in children of schizophrenic parents and normal children. Significant differences in performances were identified in at-risk children on measures of verbal skills, working memory and inhibition. Findings suggest that children genetically at-risk for developing schizophrenia exhibit neurocognitive weaknesses generally consistent with those noted in the literature. However, inhibition also appeared to be a cognitive process that significantly differentiated the groups. The possibility of a developmental expression of neurocognitive deficits is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deana B Davalos
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, 4200 East 9th Avenue, Denver, CO 80262, USA.
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Erlenmeyer-Kimling L. Neurobehavioral deficits in offspring of schizophrenic parents: liability indicators and predictors of illness. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS 2003; 97:65-71. [PMID: 10813806 DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-8628(200021)97:1<65::aid-ajmg9>3.0.co;2-v] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
High-risk research in schizophrenia incorporates several different strategies for studying individuals who are defined by different criteria as being at risk for future development of schizophrenia. Variables from a wide range of domains have been included in these studies. Several reviews of high-risk research have attempted to cover the field broadly, whereas others have been more sharply focused on research subjects defined by specific criteria or on particular classes of variables. Among the review articles and collections of project reports on high-risk research in the past two decades are: Watt et al. [1984: Children at risk for schizophrenia: a longitudinal perspective]; Nuechterlein and Dawson [1984: Schizophr Bull 10:160-203]; Nuechterlein [1986: J Child Psychol Psychiatr 27:133-144]; Erlenmeyer-Kimling and Cornblatt [1987: J Psychiatr Res 26:405-426]; Goldstein and Tuma [1987: Schizophr Bull 13:369-371]; Asarnow [1988: Schizophr Bull 14:613-631]; Moldin and Erlenmeyer-Kimling [1994: Schizophr Bull 20:25-29]; Mirsky [1995: Schizophr Bull 21:179-182]; Gooding and Iacono [1995: Manual of developmental psychopathology] McNeil [1995: Epidemiol Rev 17:107-112] Olin and Mednick [1996: Schizophr Bull 22:223-240]; Cornblatt and Obuchowski [1997: Intl Rev Psychiatry 9:437-447]. This paper presents an overview of findings from recent (the past decade and a half) prospective studies of children of schizophrenic parents, with a focus on neurobehavioral (neurocognitive, neuromotor, and neurophysiological) variables that may reflect aspects of the genetic liability to schizophrenia and related disorders. The few neuroimaging studies on children of schizophrenic parents are also briefly mentioned. Because of space limitations, the overview is not intended as a comprehensive or detailed review of this area of high-risk research.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Erlenmeyer-Kimling
- Medical Genetics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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Niemi LT, Suvisaari JM, Tuulio-Henriksson A, Lönnqvist JK. Childhood developmental abnormalities in schizophrenia: evidence from high-risk studies. Schizophr Res 2003; 60:239-58. [PMID: 12591587 DOI: 10.1016/s0920-9964(02)00234-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 209] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
According to cohort studies, individuals who develop schizophrenia in adulthood show developmental abnormalities in childhood. These include delays in attainment of speech and motor milestones, problems in social adjustment, and poorer academic and cognitive performance. Another method of investigating developmental abnormalities associated with schizophrenia is the high-risk (HR) method, which follows up longitudinally the development of children at high risk for schizophrenia. Most HR studies have investigated children who have a parent with schizophrenia. This review summarizes findings concerning childhood and adolescent development from 16 HR studies and compares them with findings from cohort, conscript, and family studies. We specifically addressed two questions: (1) Does the development of HR children differ from that of control children? (2) Which developmental factors, if any, predict the development of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders in adulthood? While the answer to the first question is affirmative, there may be other mechanisms involved in addition to having a parent with schizophrenia. Factors which appear to predict schizophrenia include problems in motor and neurological development, deficits in attention and verbal short-term memory, poor social competence, positive formal thought disorder-like symptoms, higher scores on psychosis-related scales in the MMPI, and severe instability of early rearing environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura T Niemi
- Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research, KTL, National Public Health Institute, Mannerheimintie 166, FIN-00300, Helsinki, Finland.
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44
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McNeil TF, Cantor-Graae E, Blennow G. Mental correlates of neuromotoric deviation in 6-year-olds at heightened risk for schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2003; 60:219-28. [PMID: 12591585 DOI: 10.1016/s0920-9964(02)00235-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The meaning and relevance of the increased rates of neuromotoric deviation (ND) observed in patients with schizophrenia and their biological relatives remain unclear. ND could represent free-floating, independent characteristics of individuals in these families vs. signs of an increased risk for current or future mental disorder. The co-temporaneous relationship between ND and mental disorder at 6 years of age was investigated among 31 children with an increased risk for schizophrenia and similar psychoses, defined as having a mother with a history of schizophrenia or unspecified functional psychosis. As compared with high-risk cases with a low level of ND, the subgroup of 10 high-risk offspring showing notably increased rates of ND had significantly more frequent psychiatric diagnoses (typically language disorders and enuresis), poor functioning on global assessment, poor interpersonal competency and high anxiety proneness. Neuromotoric items representing "overflow" (e.g., choreatic movements, tremor) were significantly positively related to each of these mental characteristics. Among high-risk offspring, an increased rate of ND is very clearly associated with increased rates of current mental disorder, and might potentially identify a subgroup with an especially high risk for serious mental disorder in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas F McNeil
- Stanley Foundation Research Center, Department of Psychiatric Epidemiology, University Hospital, Lund University, S-221 85, Lund, Sweden.
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45
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Cornblatt BA. The New York high risk project to the Hillside recognition and prevention (RAP) program. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS 2002; 114:956-66. [PMID: 12457393 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.10520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The sudden interest in initiating treatment before the onset of psychosis (i.e., during the prodromal stage of schizophrenia) has failed to integrate the earlier work on prediction generated by more traditional high-risk studies. Genetic high-risk research has most typically focused on the long-term, prospective study of children of parents with schizophrenia. In this paper, it will be argued that high-risk research can make at least two major contributions to prevention programs. First, previous findings can guide identification of risk factors and provide clues about causality, thus highlighting which pre-morbid deficits should be treatment targets. For example, as discussed here, data from the New York High Risk Project points to impaired attention as a highly promising candidate risk factor, with a possible causal association with later-emerging social deficits. Second, the high-risk approach can provide a framework for establishing the predictive validity of prodromal clinical indicators and for understanding the nature of the schizophrenia prodrome. Preliminary findings from the Hillside Recognition and Prevention (RAP) program, integrating high-risk methodology with an early intervention strategy, indicate that the prodrome is a developmentally complex phase of schizophrenia. In particular, a cluster of early features-including cognitive, academic, and social impairments, along with odd/disorganized behaviors-appear to anticipate positive symptoms and may constitute a core risk profile. Preliminary RAP treatment findings also suggest that medications other than anti-psychotics may be effective for treating early prodromal symptoms, challenging the widely held hypothesis that anti-psychotics should always be the first line preventive treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara A Cornblatt
- Department of Psychiatry Research, Hillside Hospital of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Glen Oaks, New York 11004, USA.
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46
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE Personality and cognition are often considered as disparate constructs, both in normal individuals and in those with a psychosis. The goal of the present study was to analyze the relationship between dimensions of personality and cognitive performance in individuals with psychosis. METHODS Sixty-one consecutively admitted patients with an acute psychotic episode were recruited for this study. Personality was assessed through a semistructured interview with a close relative using the Personality Assessment Schedule. A wide neuropsychological battery was applied, including attentional, executive, memory tasks and global cognition. Assessments took place when symptomatology was in remission. RESULTS Higher scores on a passive-dependent dimension were significantly associated with poorer memory performance. Similarly, higher levels for a schizoid dimension were significantly associated with poorer executive performance. The results remained significant after partialling out the effect of gender, psychopathological dimensions and drug status. CONCLUSION It is hypothesized that personality traits and cognitive performance are interrelated domains in psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- M J Cuesta
- Psychiatric Unit of Virgen del Camino Hospital, C/ Irunlarrea 4, E-31008 Pamplona, Spain.
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47
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the possibility of using neuromotor deviation (NMD) as an individual-orientated, early life marker for increased risk for schizophrenia. METHOD Previous findings based on systematic examination of NMD are summarised concerning schizophrenia patients and individuals at heightened genetic risk for schizophrenia. RESULTS Significantly increased rates of NMD are found in patients with schizophrenia, both after and long before disease onset. Neuromotor deviation can be efficiently studied at all ages from infancy to adulthood, and is typically not in itself stigmatising. Neuromotor deviation may represent an unstable characteristic of individuals from infancy to middle-to-late childhood, possibly attaining greater stability thereafter. Neuromotor deviation may also be more stable over time in the high-risk offspring of parents with schizophrenia than in other children. Neuromotor deviation in childhood predicts subsequent serious mental disturbance in genetic high-risk children. The efficiency of NMD for predicting schizophrenia in unselected samples is unknown, as is the optimal age(s) for assessing NMD to predict schizophrenia in high-risk and normal-risk groups. Neuromotor deviation is also found in the well relatives of schizophrenia patients, individuals developing a broad range of mental and physical disorders, and mentally normal individuals in the general population. CONCLUSIONS Neuromotor deviation should definitely be included in batteries of methods for identifying individuals with notably heightened risk of schizophrenia. However, NMD is not pathognomonic for schizophrenia, and the investigation of NMD during childhood and adolescence must thus be used judiciously in order to avoid possible stigmatisation. Further research should be done concerning the specific forms and developmental timing of NMD as related to schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- T F McNeil
- Department of Community Medicine, University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
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48
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Halperin S, Nathan P, Drummond P, Castle D. A cognitive-behavioural, group-based intervention for social anxiety in schizophrenia. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2000; 34:809-13. [PMID: 11037367 DOI: 10.1080/j.1440-1614.2000.00820.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of group-based cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for social anxiety in schizophrenia. METHOD Patients with schizophrenia (20) with comorbid social anxiety were randomly assigned to the group-based CBT or wait-list control condition. Pre-, post- and 6-week follow-up ratings included measures of social anxiety and avoidance, mood and quality of life. RESULTS The intervention group improved on all outcome measures and the control group showed no change in symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS Group-based CBT is effective in treating social anxiety in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Halperin
- Western Australian Institute for Psychotherapy Research, Inner City Mental Health Service, Perth, Australia
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Leask SJ, Done DJ, Crow TJ, Richards M, Jones PB. No association between breast-feeding and adult psychosis in two national birth cohorts. Br J Psychiatry 2000; 177:218-21. [PMID: 11040881 DOI: 10.1192/bjp.177.3.218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND It has been proposed that breast-feeding might have a protective effect against the development of adult schizophrenia. AIMS To test this hypothesis. METHOD Using prospective data from two UK national birth cohorts, the feeding histories of those who later developed schizophrenia were compared with the remaining population at risk. Analyses in each cohort were considered to be independent tests of the hypothesis. RESULTS There were no differences in feeding histories. In the 1946 birth cohort (n = 4447) 30 cases of DSM-III-R schizophrenia arose by age 43; 24.1% of cases v. 23.6% of controls were entirely bottle-fed; 17.3% v. 12.3% were breast-fed for under 1 month; 58.6% v. 64.1% were breast-fed beyond 1 month. In the 1958 cohort (n = 18,856), 40 cases of CATEGO nuclear schizophrenia arose by age 28; 24.1% of cases v. 31.7% of controls were entirely bottle-fed; 27.6% v. 24.9% were breast-fed for under 1 month; 48.3% v. 43.4% were breast-fed beyond 1 month. CONCLUSIONS These findings provide no evidence of any effect of breast-feeding in protecting against the risk of later schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- S J Leask
- University of Nottingham Department of Psychiatry
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50
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Toomey R, Seidman LJ, Lyons MJ, Faraone SV, Tsuang MT. Poor perception of nonverbal social-emotional cues in relatives of schizophrenic patients. Schizophr Res 1999; 40:121-30. [PMID: 10593452 DOI: 10.1016/s0920-9964(99)00036-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The present study compared nonverbal social perception in relatives of schizophrenic patients (n = 21) with that of normal controls (n= 19). We hypothesized that relatives would display deficits in social perception and we sought to determine the skills that are associated with this deficit. Relatives performed significantly worse than controls on the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity Test (PONS), despite comparable performance on skills hypothesized to be related to nonverbal social perception: visual perception, nonverbal problem solving, facial recognition, facial affect recognition, naming, social judgment, and vigilance. To further explore the relationships among these skills, we calculated correlations between the PONS score and associated skills separately within both the relative and control groups and assessed whether the values of these correlations differed between groups. Correlations that differed significantly indicated a greater association, within relatives, between slower reaction times on vigilance tasks and poor PONS performance. Further research is needed to clarify the nature of this relationship, to better characterize social perception deficits in relatives, and to determine whether these perceptual deficits are part of the genetic diathesis to schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Toomey
- Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Boston 02301, USA.
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