Fungal Planet description sheets: 469-557

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Australia: Apiognomonia lasiopetali on Lasiopetalum sp., Blastacervulus eucalyptorum on Eucalyptus adesmophloia, Bullanockia australis (incl. Bullanockia gen. nov.) on Kingia australis, Caliciopsis eucalypti on Eucalyptus marginata, Celerioriella petrophiles on Petrophile teretifolia, Coleophoma xanthosiae on Xanthosia rotundifolia, Coniothyrium hakeae on Hakea sp., Diatrypella banksiae on Banksia formosa, Disculoides corymbiae on Corymbia calophylla, Elsinoë eelemani on Melaleuca alternifolia, Elsinoë eucalyptigena on Eucalyptus kingsmillii, Elsinoë preissianae on Eucalyptus preissiana, Eucasphaeria rustici on Eucalyptus creta, Hyweljonesia queenslandica (incl. Hyweljonesia gen. nov.) on the cocoon of an unidentified microlepidoptera, Mycodiella eucalypti (incl. Mycodiella gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus diversicolor, Myrtapenidiella sporadicae on Eucalyptus sporadica, Neocrinula xanthorrhoeae (incl. Neocrinula gen. nov.) on Xanthorrhoea sp., Ophiocordyceps nooreniae on dead ant, Phaeosphaeriopsis agavacearum on Agave sp., Phlogicylindrium mokarei on Eucalyptus sp., Phyllosticta acaciigena on Acacia suaveolens, Pleurophoma acaciae on Acacia glaucoptera, Pyrenochaeta hakeae on Hakea sp., Readeriella lehmannii on Eucalyptus lehmannii, Saccharata banksiae on Banksia grandis, Saccharata daviesiae on Daviesia pachyphylla, Saccharata eucalyptorum on Eucalyptus bigalerita, Saccharata hakeae on Hakea baxteri, Saccharata hakeicola on Hakea victoria, Saccharata lambertiae on Lambertia ericifolia, Saccharata petrophiles on Petrophile sp., Saccharata petrophilicola on Petrophile fastigiata, Sphaerellopsis hakeae on Hakea sp., and Teichospora kingiae on Kingia australis.Brazil: Adautomilanezia caesalpiniae (incl. Adautomilanezia gen. nov.) on Caesalpina echinata, Arthrophiala arthrospora (incl. Arthrophiala gen. nov.) on Sagittaria montevidensis, Diaporthe caatingaensis (endophyte from Tacinga inamoena), Geastrum ishikawae on sandy soil, Geastrum pusillipilosum on soil, Gymnopus pygmaeus on dead leaves and sticks, Inonotus hymenonitens on decayed angiosperm trunk, Pyricularia urashimae on Urochloa brizantha, and Synnemellisia aurantia on Passiflora edulis. Chile: Tubulicrinis australis on Lophosoria quadripinnata.France: Cercophora squamulosa from submerged wood, and Scedosporium cereisporum from fluids of a wastewater treatment plant. Hawaii: Beltraniella acaciae, Dactylaria acaciae, Rhexodenticula acaciae, Rubikia evansii and Torula acaciae (all on Acacia koa).India: Lepidoderma echinosporum on dead semi-woody stems, and Rhodocybe rubrobrunnea from soil. Iran: Talaromyces kabodanensis from hypersaline soil. La Réunion: Neocordana musarum from leaves of Musa sp. Malaysia: Anungitea eucalyptigena on Eucalyptus grandis × pellita, Camptomeriphila leucaenae (incl. Camptomeriphila gen. nov.) on Leucaena leucocephala, Castanediella communis on Eucalyptus pellita, Eucalyptostroma eucalypti (incl. Eucalyptostroma gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus pellita, Melanconiella syzygii on Syzygium sp., Mycophilomyces periconiae (incl. Mycophilomyces gen. nov.) as hyperparasite on Periconia on leaves of Albizia falcataria, Synnemadiella eucalypti (incl. Synnemadiella gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus pellita, and Teichospora nephelii on Nephelium lappaceum.Mexico: Aspergillus bicephalus from soil. New Zealand: Aplosporella sophorae on Sophora microphylla, Libertasomyces platani on Platanus sp., Neothyronectria sophorae (incl. Neothyronectria gen. nov.) on Sophora microphylla, Parastagonospora phoenicicola on Phoenix canariensis, Phaeoacremonium pseudopanacis on Pseudopanax crassifolius, Phlyctema phoenicis on Phoenix canariensis, and Pseudoascochyta novae-zelandiae on Cordyline australis.Panama: Chalara panamensis from needle litter of Pinus cf. caribaea. South Africa: Exophiala eucalypti on leaves of Eucalyptus sp., Fantasmomyces hyalinus (incl. Fantasmomyces gen. nov.) on Acacia exuvialis, Paracladophialophora carceris (incl. Paracladophialophora gen. nov.) on Aloe sp., and Umthunziomyces hagahagensis (incl. Umthunziomyces gen. nov.) on Mimusops caffra.Spain: Clavaria griseobrunnea on bare ground in Pteridium aquilinum field, Cyathus ibericus on small fallen branches of Pinus halepensis, Gyroporus pseudolacteus in humus of Pinus pinaster, and Pseudoascochyta pratensis (incl. Pseudoascochyta gen. nov.) from soil. Thailand: Neoascochyta adenii on Adenium obesum, and Ochroconis capsici on Capsicum annuum. UK: Fusicolla melogrammae from dead stromata of Melogramma campylosporum on bark of Carpinus betulus. Uruguay: Myrmecridium pulvericola from house dust. USA: Neoscolecobasidium agapanthi (incl. Neoscolecobasidium gen. nov.) on Agapanthus sp., Polyscytalum purgamentum on leaf litter, Pseudopithomyces diversisporus from human toenail, Saksenaea trapezispora from knee wound of a soldier, and Sirococcus quercus from Quercus sp. Morphological and culture characteristics along with DNA barcodes are provided.

Schizotypy and the shift from dextrality: a study of handedness in a large non-clinical sample

Numerous previous studies have reported associations between schizophrenia/schizotypy and atypical handedness. While there is broad agreement that schizophrenia/schizotypy is associated with a shift away from typical (strong right) handedness, it is not entirely clear what aspect of atypical handedness is implicated: 'ambiguous' handedness (the absence of hand preference for given actions) or 'mixed handedness' (different hand preferences for different actions). The present study used several indices of handedness (derived from the Annett scale) to address these questions in 3000 + (mostly) University student subjects recruited by electronic mail. It was found that positive schizotypy (indexed by a scale of 'unusual experiences') was associated with both aspects of atypical handedness. These findings are discussed in the light of various possible explanations of the association between handedness and schizophrenia/schizotypy.

Not just a pretty face: physical attractiveness and perfectionism in the risk for eating disorders

OBJECTIVE

Considerable research has examined the correlates and consequences of both objective and subjective ratings of physical attractiveness. Numerous studies have found, for example, that subjective physical attractiveness is inversely related to weight and diet concerns. Surprisingly, however, no research has examined the relationship between objective physical beauty and eating pathologies, despite clinical and theoretical reasons to expect a positive relationship between the two.

METHOD

We rated 203 young women on facial attractiveness and obtained self-report measures of perfectionism, neuroticism, and weight preoccupation.

RESULTS

Attractiveness was positively related to weight preoccupation after controlling for body size and neurotic perfectionism.

DISCUSSION

These findings provide the first evidence of physical beauty as a risk for disordered eating, and confirm earlier evidence that the relationship between general perfectionism and disordered eating only occurs when combined with a tendency to be anxious and hypercritical. Results are discussed in the context of identity formation and the attractiveness stereotype.

The eating disorders as addiction: a psychobiological perspective

A number of theories have been proposed to explain the substantial comorbidity between the eating disorders and the substance-related disorders. Among them is the claim that self-starvation--exacerbated by excessive exercising--is itself an addiction to the body's endogenous opioids. While efforts have also been made to identify an "addictive personality," attempts to establish whether eating-disordered patients share these characteristics have met with mixed success. The present study was designed to determine the degree to which anorexic and bulimic patients display addictive personality characteristics, and whether these traits are useful in predicting the severity of the patient's weight preoccupation and their degree of excessive exercising. Results confirmed that both anorexic and bulimic patients had high scores on the Addiction Scale of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and that addictiveness and obsessive-compulsiveness were related simultaneously to weight preoccupation and excessive exercising in both patient groups. Findings are discussed within the framework of the auto-addiction opioid theory, and they highlight the similarities and differences in the personality structure of the eating-disorder subtypes.

Schizophrenia Risk and Handedness: A Mixed Picture

Numerous previous studies have reported on handedness differences among schizophrenics, as well as in normal subjects who are high in ''schizotypal'' traits, and hence putatively at risk for schizophrenia. Results have varied, but there is evidence of a shift away from dextrality, especially consistent among schizotypal individuals. Using both a conventional three-category and Annett's seven-category classification of handedness, we re-examined the question in 681 general population subjects assessed for schizotypy. The three-category analysis confirmed previous findings of increased schizotypy in mixed-handers. However, the more fine-grained analysis showed that, although mild degrees of mixed handedness were indeed associated with increased schizotypy, this trend was reversed in the most mixed-handed subjects whose schizotypy scores did not differ significantly from right-handers. Independently of our work, this subgroup of mixed-handers are also reported to show superior intellectual function, especially on some spatial tasks. We concluded that previous studies of schizophrenia and schizotypy have failed to distinguish different reasons for shifts from dextrality. It is argued that the latter's association with schizophrenia might come about through exogenous, neurodevelopmental, influences, whereas some-possibly genetically basedforms of mixed handedness could reflect a variety of cerebral organisation that protects against, rather than enhances, the risk for mental disorder.

Nightmares, dreams, and schizotypy

The theory that psychosis and dreaming share some common underlying mechanism finds support in the observation that chronic nightmare sufferers are at increased risk for psychopathology. We examined this connection in a large general population sample, administering a battery of psychosis proneness and other personality scales, together with a nightmare distress scale; participants also answered a single question on pleasurable mood associated with dreaming. In addition, they completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory, to reinvestigate previously observed gender differences in nightmare susceptibility. It was found that, among the psychosis proneness scales, the best predictor of nightmare distress was STA, a mostly cognitive measure of schizotypy; this was true even after allowing for a strong influence in the data of general neuroticism. Other aspects of psychosis proneness--e.g. anhedonia--were unrelated to nightmares. However, sex and sex role differences did make a significant contribution, self-confessed feminine females and masculine males reporting, respectively, the highest and lowest nightmare distress. For schizotypy it was further shown that relationships were not confined to the nightmare experience; high (STA) schizotypes also significantly more often reported enjoyable dreaming. It was concluded that a unifying theme explaining the data is the schizotype's greater imaginativeness, which can have both positive and negative expression in sleep and consciousness.

Electrodermal relationships with personality measures of psychosis-proneness in psychotic and normal subjects

The relationships between several indices of psychosis proneness and bilateral electrodermal orienting were examined in a large group of normal subjects and a heterogeneous group of schizophrenic patients. In the normal group, the Cognitive Disorganisation scale was characterised by shorter latencies and more irregular patterns of responding that may indicate greater disinhibitory processing in the regulation of attentional mechanisms. The Unusual Experiences scale and paranoia (both measures of positive or 'active' schizotypy) were associated with a predominance of left hemisphere influences in normal female controls. High Introvertive Anhedonia scores predicted non-responding status in schizophrenic patients and hypo-responsivity in normal controls in support of some previous studies. Overall the results support the specificity and validity of different measures of psychosis proneness and the utility of psychophysiological investigation beyond the psychotic disorders themselves.

Personality factors and weight preoccupation: a continuum approach to the association between eating disorders and personality disorders

OBJECTIVE

Evidence shows a high comorbidity of eating disorders and some forms of personality disorder. Adopting a dimensional approach to both, our study explored their connection among a non-clinical sample.

METHOD

191 young women completed personality scales of general neuroticism, and of borderline, schizotypal, obsessive-compulsive, and narcissistic (both adjustive and maladaptive) traits. Weight preoccupation (WP), as a normal analogue of eating disorders, was assessed with scales from the Eating Disorder Inventory, and height and weight measured. The data were analysed with multiple regression techniques, with WP as the dependent variable.

RESULTS

In low to normal weight subjects, after controlling for the significant influence of body mass, the specific predictors of WP in the regression model were borderline personality and maladaptive narcissism, in the positive direction, and adjustive narcissism and obsessive-compulsiveness in the negative direction. In heavier women, narcissism made no contribution--nor, more significantly, did body mass.

CONCLUSIONS

Patterns of association between eating pathology and personality disorder, especially borderline and narcissism, can be clearly mapped across to personality traits in the currently non-clinical population. This finding has important implications for understanding dynamics of, and identifying individuals at risk for, eating disorders.

The factor structure of "schizotypal' traits: a large replication study

The heterogeneity of schizotypal traits, suggested in previous research, was further investigated in a sample of subjects (N = 1095) administered a composite questionnaire consisting of a large number of published scales the majority of which were designed to measure psychotic characteristics. Factor analysis confirmed the four components previously indicated in our work with the same instrument; namely, "aberrant perceptions and beliefs', "cognitive disorganization', "introvertive anhedonia' and "asocial behaviour'. This structure was maintained regardless of whether or not the analysis included scales from the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, which might otherwise have been held to explain the variance. "Aberrant perceptions and beliefs'-reminiscent of the positive symptoms of schizophrenia-was the strongest component; but, given the multidimensional nature of the data, together with the pattern of factor loadings and intercorrelations for the scales involved, it was concluded that the broader term "psychosis-proneness' or "psychoticism' (in a non-Eysenckian sense) might be a better descriptor of the clinical and personality domain sampled.

Subject matter and poetic devices in psychotics' poetry

It has long been supposed that there is a connection between the mental processes of psychosis and those of creativity. The present study aimed to investigate this idea by means of a comparison between the poetic output of psychotics and that of normals, taking as its starting-point the notion that if there are observable differences between these two groups in terms of subject matter and linguistic features, this would suggest that creativity and psychosis are not to be identified with each other. Eighty poems by contemporary, non-professional poets (40 by psychotics and 40 by normals) were analysed on 11 different dimensions. The two samples of poems were highly similar on most of the dimensions investigated. The main differences found were in the incidence of self-analysis as a theme, reference to proper names and specific locations, and in the proportion of metaphors which fell into the category 'psychological/physical'. The two latter differences appeared to be largely a product of the first. It was concluded that although 'normal' and 'psychotic' poetic activities are not identical, they are closely related. This may be either because general poetic creativity does have psychotic features, or because the poetic function of language was relatively spared in at least this sample of psychotics.

Single indicator of risk for schizophrenia: probable fact or likely myth?

The longitudinal followup strategy in high-risk research is being increasingly complemented by the use of psychosis-proneness scales to select subjects for study who might be vulnerable to schizophrenia and who show differences on laboratory measures that could act as endophenotypic markers for use in genetic investigations. Three types of experimental paradigm have been adopted, drawn from cognitive psychology, psychophysiology, and the neuropsychology of hemisphere function. Results adopting each of these approaches are examined, alongside recent factor-analytic evidence that psychosis-proneness scales currently in use tap up to four different components that map onto the clinical heterogeneity of schizophrenia (and possibly other forms of psychosis). No one of these components clearly emerges as, or points to, a single indicator of risk, though some aspect of neurocognitive functioning seems a likely candidate. Even so, it is argued, the clinical expression of vulnerability must be due to a convergence in an individual of several components of risk since individually (and notably so for "susceptibility to positive symptoms") they are very common in the healthy population. In evaluating the evidence, attention is drawn to two crucially different ways that investigators in schizophrenia research have construed the notion of continuity (1) as subclinical defect (or forme fruste of disease) having varying expression or (2) as biologically based personality dimensions that simultaneously describe the dispositions to aberrations of function leading to degree of illness. It is noted that the model of continuity chosen can significantly shape the way the results of risk research are interpreted and the theories of psychosis to which they give rise.

Reliability and validity of a psychotic traits questionnaire (STQ)

The 'schizotypal personality' (STA) and 'borderline personality' (STB) scales of the STQ were administered to two groups: normal subjects who had completed the questionnaire on a previous occasion, four years earlier, and a 'clinical' sample, consisting of members of a self-help support group for people who at some time in the past had been psychiatrically diagnosed as suffering from a psychotic illness, mainly schizophrenia. As predicted, the latter had significantly higher scores than controls on both STQ scales, certain items also being particularly discriminating. Within the control group a test-retest analysis revealed correlations which, depending on scale and gender, were around .60. It was concluded that the STQ is a valid measure of psychotic traits and that scores on the questionnaire have good long-term stability. The results are discussed against the background, and in support of, a continuity view of psychosis.

A genetic model compatible with a dimensional view of schizophrenia

Throughout the history of schizophrenia as a psychiatric concept, opinions have differed sharply over its essential nature and its causes, giving rise to a wide range of explanations that have drawn upon ideas from almost all of the social and biological sciences. Only one fact has truly survived the vicissitudes of argument about the condition: that genetic factors contribute to its aetiology. Even that conclusion, first reached in the very early days of schizophrenia research, sank temporarily out of sight during the radical psychiatry challenges of the 1960s. However, the continuing collection of family, twin, adoption and other data over that period put the genetic hypothesis beyond reasonable doubt (McGuffin, 1988).

Evidence of reduced 'cognitive inhibition' in schizophrenia

An experiment is described which investigated cognitive inhibition in schizophrenia. It is noted that both the abnormal and cognitive literatures use the concept of inhibition. Frith (1979) suggests that the more cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia may be due to the failure to limit the current contents of consciousness due to a failure adequately to inhibit the output of preconscious processes. Current thinking in cognitive psychology suggests that in the process of selective attention there is active inhibition of distractor information. A technique used to investigate this is termed negative priming (Tipper, 1985). The general nature of this paradigm is as follows: if a distractor, which has been previously ignored, is response, due to inhibition of the information when it was originally a distractor. It was found that inhibition of such distracting information was reduced in schizophrenics. This finding is seen as providing some support for Frith's (1979) theory that the cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia are due to awareness of processes that normally occur preconsciously.

Individual differences in schizotypy as reflected in measures of cognitive inhibition

Three experiments are reported using the 'negative priming' paradigm to investigate cognitive differences in normal schizotypal subjects. Lists of Stroop colour words were presented at different display times in a number of priming and non-priming conditions, in one of which the ignored colour name predicted the colour of the next target item. The increased RT latencies to the target normally found in this condition were reduced, or even reversed, in high schizotypal subjects selected on the basis of a new schizotypy scale (STA). This effect was confined to a very short presentation time (100 ms), suggesting that schizotypy is associated with weakened inhibition operating in the early (automatic) stages of information processing. The familiar Stroop (interference) effect was related overall to negative priming, but was not responsible for the schizotypy differences.

'The schizophrenias as nervous types' revisited

In 1972 the author proposed that schizophrenia represents an aberration of central nervous processes that underlie cognitive and personality characteristics which can be observed in many healthy people. The present paper brings the evidence for that theory up to date and concludes that over the past 15 years it has received considerable empirical support. The way in which the theory confronts the question of whether or not schizophrenia is a disease is also clarified.

Individual differences in negative priming: relations with schizotypal personality traits

A study is reported of normal subjects, selected for degree of schizotypal personality traits, on a cognitive task designed to measure, in a negative priming paradigm, the extent to which they differed in interference and presumed inhibitory effects on performance. The main individual differences measure used--a new scale of schizotypy--showed, as predicted, a significant correlation with negative priming. The correlation with a measure of 'interference' was non-significant but in the expected direction. The results are judged relevant to research implicating a weakening of inhibitory selective mechanisms in schizophrenia and to models in abnormal psychology proposing a continuum between normal and abnormal cognitive function. As such, they suggest a soundly based theoretical approach to the analysis of the individual variations in information processing commonly observed in general cognitive psychology.

Covariation between two-flash threshold and skin conductance level in first-breakdown schizophrenics: relationships in drug-free patients and effects of treatment

Earlier research suggested that, compared with other individuals, schizophrenics show a different form of covariation between electrodermal level and perceptual discrimination, as indexed by the two-flash threshold. However, dispute has arisen as to whether previous contradictory results obtained on patient samples can be explained by a conventional inverted-U function or whether the relationship takes on an entirely different form, i.e., a U function. The latter alternative was confirmed here in a study of first-breakdown drug-free schizophrenics, tested on 3 consecutive days after hospital admission and before treatment began. However, the U function was evident only in the larger of two subgroups of schizophrenics, identified as patients whose treatment was delayed longer after admission, who were clinically less emotionally responsive and who, in basic personality, were more introverted. When the patients were subsequently tested during treatment, no systematic relationship between two-flash threshold and skin conductance could be discerned. The latter presumably reflected the fact that, during this phase of the experiment, there were marked and complex changes in the individual measures, the effects of treatment on which were briefly examined.

Animal models of schizophrenia: the case for LSD-25

Some of the difficulties of trying to establish an animal model of schizophrenia are first considered. Then, after a review of the evidence on the experimental psychopathology of schizophrenia, particularly that concerned with attention and arousal, it is concluded that the core feature which needs to be modeled in animals is some aspect of "input dysfunction." It is argued that, of the pharmacological strategies, LSD-25 comes nearest to meeting that requirement, for two reasons. First, the phenomenology of an LSD "model psychosis" closely parallels that of the natural disease. Secondly, the experimental effects of the drug, both in animals and man, are very similar to or can be closely aligned theoretically with those of schizophrenia. An example is quoted from work in the author's laboratory where LSD was found to produce psychophysiological effects virtually identical to those observed occurring naturally in acute psychotic patients and in normal subjects high in "psychotic" personality traits. It is suggested that the rejection of LSD as a drug model was premature, especially as the currently popular preference for amphetamine has not been vindicated, either by the latter's ability to mimic an important central feature of the psychotic state or by work on dopamine as a specific common mediator of amphetamine psychosis and of schizophrenia.

Psychoticism and thinking

In view of evidence linking psychosis with high creative ability, an attempt was made to evaluate the relationship between thinking abilities and personality traits. Tests of divergent thinking and convergent thinking were administered, along with the Eysencks' Personality Questionnaire, to 100 university students. The hypothesis that 'psychoticism' is related to divergent thinking was strongly confirmed. The hypothesis that psychoticism would be related inversely to speed in a convergent-thinking task was rejected. No evidence was found for any relationship between extraversion--introversion or neuroticism--stability and either thinking style.