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Luther L, Raugh IM, Grant PM, Beck AT, Strauss GP. The Role of Defeatist Performance Beliefs in State Fluctuations of Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia Measured in Daily Life via Ecological Momentary Assessment. Schizophr Bull 2024:sbae128. [PMID: 39066666 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbae128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS The Cognitive Model of Negative Symptoms is a prominent model that posits that defeatist performance beliefs (DPB) are a key psychological mechanism underlying negative symptoms in those with schizophrenia (SZ). However, the ecological validity of the model has not been established, and temporally specific evaluations of the model's hypotheses have not been conducted. This study tested the model's key hypotheses in real-world environments using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). STUDY DESIGN Fifty-two outpatients with SZ and 55 healthy controls (CN) completed 6 days of EMA. Multilevel models examined concurrent and time-lagged associations between DPB and negative symptoms in daily life. STUDY RESULTS SZ displayed greater DPB in daily life than CN. Furthermore, greater DPB were associated with greater concurrently assessed negative symptoms (anhedonia, avolition, and asociality) in daily life. Time-lagged analyses indicated that in both groups, greater DPB at time t led to elevations in negative symptoms (anhedonia, avolition, or asociality) at t + 1 above and beyond the effects of negative symptoms at time t. CONCLUSIONS Results support the ecological validity of the Cognitive Model of Negative Symptoms and identify a temporally specific association between DPB and subsequent negative symptoms that is consistent with the model's hypotheses and a putative mechanistic pathway in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for negative symptoms. Findings suggest that DPB are a psychological factor contributing to negative symptoms in real-world environments. Implications for measuring DPB in daily life and providing just-in-time mobile health-based interventions to target this mechanism are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Luther
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
| | - Ian M Raugh
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
| | - Paul M Grant
- Center for Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy, Beck Institute, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Aaron T Beck
- Center for Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy, Beck Institute, Philadelphia, PA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
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2
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Strauss GP. Environmental factors contributing to negative symptoms in youth at clinical high risk for psychosis and outpatients with schizophrenia. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2024; 59:1167-1175. [PMID: 37624464 DOI: 10.1007/s00127-023-02556-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A bioecosystem theory was recently proposed positing that negative symptoms of schizophrenia (SZ) are influenced by environmental factors. These environmental processes reflect sources of resource deprivation that manifest across multiple systems that impact individuals directly through microsystems and indirectly through the exosystem and macrosystem. As an initial test of this theory, the current study examined whether self-reported environmental resource deprivation was associated with anhedonia, avolition, and asociality. METHOD Two samples were collected: (1) outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (SZ: n = 38) and matched psychiatrically heathy controls (CN: n = 31); (2) youth at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR: n = 34) and matched CN (n = 30). Measures of negative symptoms and environmental factors influencing the frequency of recreational, goal-directed, and social activities were collected. RESULTS Negative symptoms were associated with environmental deprivation factors in the microsystem (number of social and activity settings) and exosystem (economy, mass media, politics/laws, neighborhood crime). These associations did not appear due to depression and were greater among those with SZ than CHR. CONCLUSIONS These findings provide preliminary support for the bioecosystem theory and highlight an under-recognized role for environmental factors underlying negative symptoms across phases of psychotic illness. Environmental systems-focused treatment approaches may offer a novel means of treating negative symptoms, which could be promising when coupled with person-level pharmacological and psychosocial treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory P Strauss
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
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3
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Filip TF, Hellemann GS, Ventura J, Subotnik KL, Green MF, Nuechterlein KH, McCleery A. Defeatist performance beliefs in individuals with recent-onset schizophrenia: Relationships with cognition and negative symptoms. Schizophr Res 2024; 270:212-219. [PMID: 38924939 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2024.06.021] [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: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2024] [Accepted: 06/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The cognitive model of negative symptoms of schizophrenia suggests that defeatist performance beliefs (DPB), or overgeneralized negative beliefs about one's performance, are an intermediary variable along the pathway from impaired neurocognitive performance to negative symptoms and functioning in daily life. Although reliable associations between these variables have been established in chronic schizophrenia, less is known about the nature of these relationships in recent-onset schizophrenia (ROSz). This current study tested the associations between DPB and variables in the cognitive model (neurocognitive performance, negative symptoms, functioning) as well as mediation by DPB of the association between neurocognitive performance and negative symptoms in ROSz. METHODS A total of 52 participants (32 adults with ROSz and 20 non-psychiatric healthy comparators; HC) completed in-lab measures of neurocognitive performance, self-reported defeatist performance beliefs, and clinician administered measures of negative symptoms and functional outcome. Bivariate relationships among these variables were tested with Pearson correlations. Bootstrapped regression analyses were conducted to test the strength of the indirect effect of neurocognitive performance on negative symptoms through DPB. RESULTS Defeatist performance beliefs were significantly elevated in ROSz, and were associated with neurocognitive performance, negative symptoms, and functional outcome as predicted by the cognitive model. There was a significant indirect effect of neurocognition on experiential negative symptoms through DPB, indicating DPB are a partial mediator of the relationship between neurocognitive performance and negative symptoms. CONCLUSION These findings are consistent with the cognitive model of negative symptoms and extend previous findings in both ROSz and established schizophrenia. Specifically, these data demonstrate that DPB are elevated among ROSz and the associations with neurocognition and clinical outcomes (e.g., negative symptoms and functioning) are of similar magnitude to those reported in chronic schizophrenia. DPB may therefore be a viable treatment target in the early course of illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tess F Filip
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States of America
| | - Gerhard S Hellemann
- Department of Public Health, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States of America
| | - Joseph Ventura
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Kenneth L Subotnik
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Michael F Green
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America; Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Keith H Nuechterlein
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America; Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Amanda McCleery
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Carver College of Medicine, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States of America.
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4
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Luther L, Raugh IM, Collins DE, Berglund A, Knippenberg AR, Mittal VA, Walker EF, Strauss GP. Environmental context predicts state fluctuations in negative symptoms in youth at clinical high risk for psychosis. Psychol Med 2023; 53:7609-7618. [PMID: 37246568 PMCID: PMC10755225 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291723001393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Negative symptoms (avolition, anhedonia, asociality) are a prevalent symptom in those across the psychosis-spectrum and also occur at subclinical levels in the general population. Recent work has begun to examine how environmental contexts (e.g. locations) influence negative symptoms. However, limited work has evaluated how environments may contribute to negative symptoms among youth at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR). The current study uses Ecological Momentary Assessment to assess how four environmental contexts (locations, activities, social interactions, social interaction method) impact state fluctuations in negative symptoms in CHR and healthy control (CN) participants. METHODS CHR youth (n = 116) and CN (n = 61) completed 8 daily surveys for 6 days assessing negative symptoms and contexts. RESULTS Mixed-effects modeling demonstrated that negative symptoms largely varied across contexts in both groups. CHR participants had higher negative symptoms than CN participants in most contexts, but groups had similar symptom reductions during recreational activities and phone call interactions. Among CHR participants, negative symptoms were elevated in several contexts, including studying/working, commuting, eating, running errands, and being at home. CONCLUSIONS Results demonstrate that negative symptoms dynamically change across some contexts in CHR participants. Negative symptoms were more intact in some contexts, while other contexts, notably some used to promote functional recovery, may exacerbate negative symptoms in CHR. Findings suggest that environmental factors should be considered when understanding state fluctuations in negative symptoms among those at CHR participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Luther
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Ian M. Raugh
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | | | - Alysia Berglund
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | | | - Vijay A. Mittal
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
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Paul NB, Strauss GP, Gates-Woodyatt JJ, Barchard KA, Allen DN. Two and five-factor models of negative symptoms in schizophrenia are differentially associated with trait affect, defeatist performance beliefs, and psychosocial functioning. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2023; 273:1715-1724. [PMID: 36633673 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-022-01507-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Recent factor analytic evidence supports both two-factor (motivation and pleasure, MAP; diminished expression, EXP) and five-factor (anhedonia, asociality, avolition, blunted affect, alogia) conceptualizations of negative symptoms. However, it is unclear whether these two conceptualizations of the latent structure of negative symptoms have differential associations with external correlates. The current study evaluated external correlates of the two- and five-factor structures by examining associations with variables known to have critical relations with negative symptoms: trait affect, defeatist performance beliefs, neurocognition, and community-based psychosocial functioning. Participants included a total of 245 outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia who were rated on the Brief Negative Symptom Scale and completed a battery of additional measures during periods of clinical stability. These additional measures included the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Defeatist Performance Beliefs scale, MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery, and Level of Function Scale. Pearson correlations indicated differential patterns of associations between the BNSS scores and the external correlates. Support for the two-factor model was indicated by a stronger association of MAP with positive affect and psychosocial functioning, compared to EXP with neurocognition. Significance tests examining a differential magnitude of associations showed that the two-dimension negative symptom structure masked unique correlational relationships among the five negative symptom domains with neurocognition and social/vocational community functioning and captured unique patterns of correlation with trait affect. Support for the five-factor model was shown by a stronger association between Blunted Affect with Attention/Vigilance, and stronger associations between Avolition, Anhedonia, and Asociality with psychosocial functioning. Results offer support for both the two-dimension and five-domain model of negative symptoms as well as a hierarchical two-dimensions-five-domains model of negative symptoms. Findings may have implications for diagnostic criteria and descriptions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5), as well as possible treatment targets of negative symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina B Paul
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, P. O. Box 455030, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-5030, USA
| | | | - Jessica J Gates-Woodyatt
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, P. O. Box 455030, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-5030, USA
| | - Kimberly A Barchard
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, P. O. Box 455030, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-5030, USA
| | - Daniel N Allen
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, P. O. Box 455030, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-5030, USA.
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6
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Luther L, Westbrook A, Ayawvi G, Ruiz I, Raugh IM, Chu AOK, Chang WC, Strauss GP. The role of defeatist performance beliefs on cognitive effort-cost decision-making in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2023; 261:216-224. [PMID: 37801740 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2023.09.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 07/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
Impairments in effort-cost decision-making have been consistently observed in people with schizophrenia (SZ) and may be an important mechanism of negative symptoms. However, the processes that give rise to impairments in effort-cost decision-making are unclear, leading to limited progress in identifying the most relevant treatment targets. Drawing from cognitive models of negative symptoms and goal-directed behavior, this study aimed to examine how and under what type of task conditions defeatist performance beliefs contribute to these decision-making processes. Outpatients with SZ (n = 30) and healthy controls (CN; n = 28) completed a cognitive effort allocation task, the Cognitive Effort-Discounting (COGED) task, which assesses participants' willingness to exert cognitive effort for monetary rewards based on parametrically varied working memory demands (completing N-back levels). Results showed that although participants with SZ demonstrated reduced willingness to work for rewards across N-back levels compared to CN participants, they showed less choice modulation across different N-back conditions. However, among SZ participants with greater defeatist performance beliefs, there was a reduced willingness to choose the high effort option at higher N-back levels (N-back levels 3, 4, and 5 versus 2-back). Results suggest that compared to CN, the SZ group's subjective willingness to expend effort largely did not dynamically adjust as cognitive load increased. However, defeatist beliefs may undermine willingness to expend cognitive effort, especially when cognitive task demands are high. These beliefs may be a viable treatment target to improve effort-cost decision-making impairments in people with SZ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Luther
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
| | | | - Gifty Ayawvi
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Ivan Ruiz
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Ian M Raugh
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Angel On Ki Chu
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - Wing Chung Chang
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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7
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Ayawvi G, Berglund AM, James SH, Luther L, Walker EF, Mittal VA, Strauss GP. The association between early traumatic experiences and the five domains of negative symptoms in participants at clinical high risk for psychosis. Early Interv Psychiatry 2023; 17:1131-1135. [PMID: 37041742 PMCID: PMC10564962 DOI: 10.1111/eip.13418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
AIM Youth at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis have high rates of early life trauma, but it is unclear how trauma exposure impacts later negative symptom severity in CHR. The current study examined the association between early childhood trauma and the five domains of negative symptoms (anhedonia, avolition, asociality, blunted affect, alogia). METHOD Eighty nine participants completed interviewer-rated measures of childhood trauma and abuse experienced before age 16, psychosis risk, and negative symptoms. RESULTS Higher global negative symptom severity was associated with greater exposure to childhood psychological bullying, physical bullying, emotional neglect, psychological abuse, and physical abuse. Greater severity of avolition and asociality was associated with physical bullying. Greater severity of avolition was associated with emotional neglect. CONCLUSION Early adversity and childhood trauma is associated with negative symptoms during adolescence and early adulthood among participants at CHR for psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gifty Ayawvi
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | | | - Sydney H. James
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Lauren Luther
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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8
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Berglund AM, Raugh IM, Macdonald KI, James SH, Bartolomeo LA, Knippenberg AR, Strauss GP. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on hallucinations and delusions in youth at clinical high-risk for psychosis and outpatients with schizophrenia. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2023; 273:1329-1338. [PMID: 36680609 PMCID: PMC9862234 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-023-01551-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has had detrimental effects on mental health in the general population, the impact on those with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders has received relatively little attention. Assessing pandemic-related changes in positive symptoms is particularly critical to inform treatment protocols and determine whether fluctuations in hallucinations and delusions are related to telehealth utilization and treatment adherence. In the current longitudinal study, we evaluated changes in the frequency of hallucinations and delusions and distress resulting from them across three-time points. Participants included: (1) outpatients with chronic schizophrenia (SZ: n = 32) and healthy controls (CN: n = 31); (2) individuals at clinically high risk for psychosis (CHR: n = 25) and CN (n = 30). A series of questionnaires were administered to assess hallucination and delusion severity, medication adherence, telehealth utilization, and protective factors during the pandemic. While there were no significant increases in the frequency of hallucinations and delusions in SZ and CHR, distress increased from pre-pandemic to early pandemic in both groups and then decreased at the third time point. Additionally, changes in positive symptom severity in SZ were related to psychiatric medication adherence. Findings suggest that positive symptoms are a critical treatment target during the pandemic and that ongoing medication services will be beneficial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alysia M Berglund
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Ian M Raugh
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Kelsey I Macdonald
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Sydney H James
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Lisa A Bartolomeo
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Anna R Knippenberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Gregory P Strauss
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
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9
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Gupta T, Antezana L, Porter C, Mayanil T, Bylsma LM, Maslar M, Horton LE. Skills program for awareness, connectedness, and empowerment: A conceptual framework of a skills group for individuals with a psychosis-risk syndrome. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1083368. [PMID: 37025348 PMCID: PMC10072161 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1083368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Intervention strategies for those diagnosed with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia can be effective in reducing symptoms and improving quality of life. While strides have been made in developing prevention and intervention strategies earlier on in the disease progression, among those at clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis, challenges with heterogeneity can limit symptom and diagnosis specific treatment. Here, we discuss a newly developed therapy skills group called the Skills Program for Awareness, Connectedness, and Empowerment (SPACE) that integrates different types of behavioral skills - standard and radically open dialectical behavioral therapy as well as cognitive behavioral therapy - for CHR youth between the ages of 13-18 years. With the diathesis-stress framework serving as a foundation, the intervention is divided into three stages. These stages target specific signs and symptoms contributing to the progression of CHR symptoms. Stage 1 targets stress (with the goal of developing awareness and reducing distress), stage 2 targets self-disturbances (with a goal of increasing self-connectedness), and stage 3 targets social connectedness (with a goal of improving social domains of functioning). The focus of this article is to introduce the theoretical framework underlying the pilot skills group and discuss ongoing progress. Clinical Trial Registration NCT05398120; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05398120.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tina Gupta
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Ligia Antezana
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Christian Porter
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Tushita Mayanil
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Lauren M. Bylsma
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Michael Maslar
- The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Leslie E. Horton
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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10
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Abram SV, Weittenhiller LP, Bertrand CE, McQuaid JR, Mathalon DH, Ford JM, Fryer SL. Psychological Dimensions Relevant to Motivation and Pleasure in Schizophrenia. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:827260. [PMID: 35401135 PMCID: PMC8985863 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.827260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Motivation and pleasure deficits are common in schizophrenia, strongly linked with poorer functioning, and may reflect underlying alterations in brain functions governing reward processing and goal pursuit. While there is extensive research examining cognitive and reward mechanisms related to these deficits in schizophrenia, less attention has been paid to psychological characteristics that contribute to resilience against, or risk for, motivation and pleasure impairment. For example, psychological tendencies involving positive future expectancies (e.g., optimism) and effective affect management (e.g., reappraisal, mindfulness) are associated with aspects of reward anticipation and evaluation that optimally guide goal-directed behavior. Conversely, maladaptive thinking patterns (e.g., defeatist performance beliefs, asocial beliefs) and tendencies that amplify negative cognitions (e.g., rumination), may divert cognitive resources away from goal pursuit or reduce willingness to exert effort. Additionally, aspects of sociality, including the propensity to experience social connection as positive reinforcement may be particularly relevant for pursuing social goals. In the current review, we discuss the roles of several psychological characteristics with respect to motivation and pleasure in schizophrenia. We argue that individual variation in these psychological dimensions is relevant to the study of motivation and reward processing in schizophrenia, including interactions between these psychological dimensions and more well-characterized cognitive and reward processing contributors to motivation. We close by emphasizing the value of considering a broad set of modulating factors when studying motivation and pleasure functions in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha V. Abram
- Mental Health Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | | | - Claire E. Bertrand
- Mental Health Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - John R. McQuaid
- Mental Health Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Daniel H. Mathalon
- Mental Health Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Judith M. Ford
- Mental Health Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Susanna L. Fryer
- Mental Health Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
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11
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The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on negative symptoms in individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis and outpatients with chronic schizophrenia. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2022; 272:17-27. [PMID: 33881621 PMCID: PMC8057945 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-021-01260-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Negative symptoms are core features of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders that are frequently observed across all phases of illness. By their nature, COVID-19 social isolation, physical distancing, and health precautions induce behavioural aspects of negative symptoms. However, it is unclear whether these prevention measures also lead to increases in experiential negative symptoms, whether such effects are equivalent across individual negative symptom domains, and if exacerbations occur equivalently across phases of illness. The current study compared negative symptom severity scores obtained during the pandemic to pre-pandemic assessments in two samples: (1) outpatients with chronic schizophrenia (SZ: n = 32) and matched healthy controls (CN: n = 31) and (2) individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR: n = 25) and matched CN (n = 30). Pre-pandemic ratings of negative symptoms were clinically elevated in SZ and CHR groups, which did not differ from each other in severity. In SZ, ratings obtained during the pandemic were significantly higher than pre-pandemic ratings for all 5 domains (alogia, blunted affect, anhedonia, avolition, and asociality) and item-level analyses indicated that exacerbations occurred on both experiential and behavioral symptoms of anhedonia, avolition, and asociality. In contrast, CHR only exhibited increases in anhedonia and avolition items during the pandemic compared to pre-ratings. Findings suggest that negative symptoms should be a critical treatment target during and after the pandemic in the schizophrenia spectrum given that they are worsening and critically related to risk for conversion, functional outcome, and recovery.
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Tuominen L, DeCross SN, Boeke E, Cassidy CM, Freudenreich O, Shinn AK, Tootell RBH, Holt DJ. Neural Abnormalities in Fear Generalization in Schizophrenia and Associations With Negative Symptoms. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2021; 6:1165-1175. [PMID: 33524600 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Associative learning and memory processes, including the generalization of previously learned associations, may be altered in schizophrenia. Deficits in schizophrenia in stimulus generalization, one of the simplest forms of memory, could interfere with the ability to efficiently categorize related, similar information, potentially leading to impairments in daily functioning. METHODS To measure generalization in schizophrenia, 37 individuals with a nonaffective psychotic disorder and 32 demographically matched healthy control subjects underwent a Pavlovian fear conditioning and generalization procedure, which accounted for variation in perceptual ability across participants, while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Skin conductance and neural responses to conditioned (CS+), neutral (CS-), and generalization stimuli were measured. Explicit memory ratings reflecting successful generalization were also collected after the scanning, as well as measures of symptom severity. RESULTS Compared with healthy control subjects, individuals with nonaffective psychotic disorders showed significant deficits in fear generalization across multiple measurements, with impairments in memory ratings and reductions in activation and deactivation of the salience and default networks, respectively, during fear generalization. Moreover, in the psychotic disorder group, greater behavioral and neural abnormalities in generalization were associated with higher levels of negative symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Fear generalization is impaired in psychotic illness. Given that successful generalization relies on a dynamic balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission, these results reveal a potentially quantifiable mechanism linked to negative symptoms that can be investigated further in future human and experimental animal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauri Tuominen
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Stephanie N DeCross
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts
| | - Emily Boeke
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts
| | - Clifford M Cassidy
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Oliver Freudenreich
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Ann K Shinn
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts
| | - Roger B H Tootell
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Daphne J Holt
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
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13
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Strauss GP. A Bioecosystem Theory of Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:655471. [PMID: 33841217 PMCID: PMC8026872 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.655471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective: Negative symptoms are a core feature of schizophrenia that has been linked to numerous poor clinical outcomes. Although person-level mechanisms have been identified for negative symptoms, psychosocial and pharmacological treatments targeting these mechanisms have been ineffective. The current theoretical paper proposes that limited treatment progress may result in part from a failure to identify and target environmental processes that cause and maintain negative symptoms. Methods: A novel theoretical model is outlined, called the bioecosystem theory of negative symptoms, that offers a conceptual framework for studying interactions among environmental systems and person-related biological and psychosocial factors. Results: Relying on Bronfenbrenner's developmental theory as an organizing framework, four interactive environmental systems are proposed to be critical for the genesis and maintenance of negative symptoms: (1) Microsystem: the immediate environment; (2) Mesosystem: the interactions among microsystems; (3) Exosystem: indirect environments that influence the individual through the microsystems; (4) Macrosystem: socio-cultural factors. The environmental factors within these systems are proposed to function as a network and have dynamic within-system interactions, as well as cross-system interactions that change over time and across phases of illness. Conclusions: Environmental contributions to negative symptoms have received minimal empirical attention, despite their potential to explain variance in negative symptom severity. The bioecosystem model of negative symptoms introduced here offers a novel conceptual framework for exploring environmental contributions to negative symptoms and their interaction with person-level biological and psychological factors. This theory may facilitate new avenues for identifying environmental treatment targets and novel systems-level interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory P Strauss
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
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