Deficits in implicit attention to social signals in schizophrenia and high risk groups: behavioural evidence from a new illusion.

Science.gov (United States)

van 't Wout, Mascha; van Rijn, Sophie; Jellema, Tjeerd; Kahn, René S; Aleman, André

2009-01-01

An increasing body of evidence suggests that the apparent social impairments observed in schizophrenia may arise from deficits in social cognitive processing capacities. The ability to process basic social cues, such as gaze direction and biological motion, effortlessly and implicitly is thought to be a prerequisite for establishing successful social interactions and for construing a sense of "social intuition." However, studies that address the ability to effortlessly process basic social cues in schizophrenia are lacking. Because social cognitive processing deficits may be part of the genetic vulnerability for schizophrenia, we also investigated two groups that have been shown to be at increased risk of developing schizophrenia-spectrum pathology: first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients and men with Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY). We compared 28 patients with schizophrenia, 29 siblings of patients with schizophrenia, and 29 individuals with Klinefelter syndrome with 46 matched healthy control subjects on a new paradigm. This paradigm measures one's susceptibility for a bias in distance estimation between two agents that is induced by the implicit processing of gaze direction and biological motion conveyed by these agents. Compared to control subjects, patients with schizophrenia, as well as siblings of patients and Klinefelter men, showed a lack of influence of social cues on their distance judgments. We suggest that the insensitivity for social cues is a cognitive aspect of schizophrenia that may be seen as an endophenotype as it appears to be present both in relatives who are at increased genetic risk and in a genetic disorder at risk for schizophrenia-spectrum psychopathology. These social cue-processing deficits could contribute, in part, to the difficulties in higher order social cognitive tasks and, hence, to decreased social competence that has been observed in these groups.

Illusory conjunctions and perceptual grouping in a visual search task in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, V J; Dewis, S A; Lewin, T J

1998-07-27

This report describes part of a series of experiments, conducted within the framework of feature integration theory, to determine whether patients with schizophrenia show deficits in preattentive processing. Thirty subjects with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of schizophrenia and 30 age-, gender-, and education-matched normal control subjects completed two computerized experimental tasks, a visual search task assessing the frequency of illusory conjunctions (i.e. false perceptions) under conditions of divided attention (Experiment 3) and a task which examined the effects of perceptual grouping on illusory conjunctions (Experiment 4). We also assessed current symptomatology and its relationship to task performance. Contrary to our hypotheses, schizophrenia subjects did not show higher rates of illusory conjunctions, and the influence of perceptual grouping on the frequency of illusory conjunctions was similar for schizophrenia and control subjects. Nonetheless, specific predictions from feature integration theory about the impact of different target types (Experiment 3) and perceptual groups (Experiment 4) on the likelihood of forming an illusory conjunction were strongly supported, thereby confirming the integrity of the experimental procedures. Overall, these studies revealed no firm evidence that schizophrenia is associated with a preattentive abnormality in visual search using stimuli that differ on the basis of physical characteristics.

Differences in Neuropsychological Functioning Between Homicidal and Nonviolent Schizophrenia Samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Stratton, John; Cobia, Derin J; Reilly, James; Brook, Michael; Hanlon, Robert E

2018-02-07

Few studies have compared performance on neurocognitive measures between violent and nonviolent schizophrenia samples. A better understanding of neurocognitive dysfunction in violent individuals with schizophrenia could increase the efficacy of violence reduction strategies and aid in risk assessment and adjudication processes. This study aimed to compare neuropsychological performance between 25 homicide offenders with schizophrenia and 25 nonviolent schizophrenia controls. The groups were matched for age, race, sex, and handedness. Independent t-tests and Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to compare the schizophrenia groups' performance on measures of cognition, including composite scores assessing domain level functioning and individual neuropsychological tests. Results indicated the violent schizophrenia group performed worse on measures of memory and executive functioning, and the Intellectual Functioning composite score, when compared to the nonviolent schizophrenia sample. These findings replicate previous research documenting neuropsychological deficits specific to violent individuals with schizophrenia and support research implicating fronto-limbic dysfunction among violent offenders with schizophrenia. © 2018 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Drama therapy for schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like illnesses.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruddy, R A; Dent-Brown, K

2007-01-24

Medication is the mainstay of treatment for schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like illnesses, but many people continue to experience symptoms in spite of medication (Johnstone 1998). In addition to medication, creative therapies, such as drama therapy may prove beneficial. Drama therapy is a form of treatment that encourages spontaneity and creativity. It can promote emotional expression, but does not necessarily require the participant to have insight into their condition or psychological-mindset. To review the effects of drama therapy and related approaches as an adjunctive treatment for schizophrenia compared with standard care and other psychosocial interventions. We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Register (October 2006), hand searched reference lists, hand searched Dramatherapy (the journal of the British Association of Dramatherapists) and Arts in Psychotherapy and contacted relevant authors. We included all randomised controlled trials that compared drama therapy, psychodrama and related approaches with standard care or other psychosocial interventions for schizophrenia. We reliably selected, quality assessed and extracted data from the studies. We excluded data where more than 50% of participants in any group were lost to follow up. For continuous outcomes we calculated a weighted mean difference and its 95% confidence interval. For binary outcomes we calculated a fixed effects risk ratio (RR), its 95% confidence interval (CI) and a number needed to treat (NNT). The search identified 183 references but only five studies (total n=210) met the inclusion criteria. All of the studies were on inpatient populations and compared the intervention with standard inpatient care. One study had drama therapy as the intervention, one had role-playing, one had a social drama group and two used psychodrama. Two of the included studies were Chinese and it is difficult to know whether psychodrama and indeed inpatient psychiatric care in China is comparable with the

S100B-immunopositive glia is elevated in paranoid as compared to residual schizophrenia: a morphometric study.

Science.gov (United States)

Steiner, Johann; Bernstein, Hans-Gert; Bielau, Hendrik; Farkas, Nadine; Winter, Jana; Dobrowolny, Henrik; Brisch, Ralf; Gos, Tomasz; Mawrin, Christian; Myint, Aye Mu; Bogerts, Bernhard

2008-08-01

Several studies have revealed increased S100B levels in peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with schizophrenia. In this context, it was postulated that elevated levels of S100B may indicate changes of pathophysiological significance to brain tissue in general and astrocytes in particular. However, no histological study has been published on the cellular distribution of S100B in the brain of individuals with schizophrenia to clarify this hypothesis. The cell-density of S100B-immunopositive glia was analyzed in the anterior cingulate, dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPF), orbitofrontal, and superior temporal cortices/adjacent white matter, pyramidal layer/alveus of the hippocampus, and the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus of 18 patients with schizophrenia and 16 matched control subjects. Cortical brain regions contained more S100B-immunopositive glia in the schizophrenia group relative to controls (P=0.046). This effect was caused by the paranoid schizophrenia subgroup (P=0.018). Separate analysis of white matter revealed no diagnostic main group effect (P=0.846). However, the white matter of patients with paranoid schizophrenia contained more (mainly oligodendrocytic) S100B-positive glia as compared to residual schizophrenia (P=0.021). These effects were particularly pronounced in the DLPF brain area. Our study reveals distinct histological patterns of S100B immunoeactive glia in two schizophrenia subtypes. This may be indicative of a heterogenic pathophysiology or distinct compensatory abilities: Astro-/oligodendroglial activation may result in increased cellular S100B in paranoid schizophrenia. On the contrary, residual schizophrenia may be caused by white matter oligodendroglial damage or dysfunction, associated with a release of S100B into body fluids.

Social cognition in schizophrenia in comparison to bipolar disorder: A meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bora, Emre; Pantelis, Christos

2016-08-01

Cognitive dysfunction is a common characteristic of both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (BP). While these deficits are more severe in schizophrenia, there is a significant overlap between conditions. However, it was hypothesized that social cognitive deficits might be more specific to schizophrenia. We conducted a meta-analysis of studies comparing facial emotion recognition and theory of mind (ToM) abilities in schizophrenia and BP. 26 studies comparing 1301 patients with schizophrenia and 1075 with BP were included. Schizophrenia patients significantly underperformed compared with BP patients in both facial emotion recognition (d=0.39) and ToM (d=0.57). Neurocognitive deficits significantly contributed to schizophrenia-BP group differences for ToM. However, between-group differences for social cognition were not statistically more severe than neurocognition. Social cognitive impairment is more severe in schizophrenia in comparison to BP. However, between-group differences are modest and are comparable to other neurocognitive differences between schizophrenia and BP. There is significant overlap in social cognitive performance deficits observed in both schizophrenia and BP. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Group art therapy as an adjunctive treatment for people with schizophrenia: a randomised controlled trial (MATISSE).

OpenAIRE

Crawford, MJ; Killaspy, H; Barnes, TR; Barrett, B; Byford, S; Clayton, K; Dinsmore, J; Floyd, S; Hoadley, A; Johnson, T; Kalaitzaki, E; King, M; Leurent, B; Maratos, A; O'Neill, FA

2012-01-01

OBJECTIVE To examine the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of referral to group art therapy plus standard care, compared with referral to an activity group plus standard care and standard care alone, among people with schizophrenia. DESIGN A three-arm, parallel group, single-blind, pragmatic, randomised controlled trial. Participants were randomised via an independent and remote telephone randomisation service using permuted blocks, stratified by study centre. SETTING Study partic...

Neurocognitive similarities between severe chronic schizophrenia and behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Hui-Minn; Stolwyk, Rene; Neath, Joanna; Kelso, Wendy; Walterfang, Mark; Mocellin, Ramon; Pantelis, Christos; Velakoulis, Dennis

2015-02-28

This study focuses on a group of patients with chronic schizophrenia who have a more severe form of the disorder, as indicated by socio-functional decline, treatment resistance, and recurrent hospitalisation. Previous research has suggested that the pattern and severity of cognitive deficits in people with severe chronic schizophrenia is similar to that observed in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). In the current study, we compared neurocognitive performance in 16 cognitive domains in 7 inpatients with severe chronic schizophrenia, 13 community-dwelling outpatients with chronic schizophrenia, 12 patients with bvFTD, and 18 healthy controls. Our findings revealed more similar cognitive profiles between the schizophrenia inpatient and bvFTD groups compared to the schizophrenia outpatient group, who outperformed the former groups. The current results provide preliminary evidence for a distinct schizophrenia subgroup, distinguishable from other chronic schizophrenia patients by poorer clinical and functional status, who have levels of cognitive impairment comparable to those seen in bvFTD patients. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Working memory and attention deficits in adolescent offspring of schizophrenia or bipolar patients: comparing vulnerability markers.

Science.gov (United States)

Diwadkar, Vaibhav A; Goradia, Dhruman; Hosanagar, Avinash; Mermon, Diana; Montrose, Debra M; Birmaher, Boris; Axelson, David; Rajarathinem, R; Haddad, Luay; Amirsadri, Ali; Zajac-Benitez, Caroline; Rajan, Usha; Keshavan, Matcheri S

2011-07-01

Working memory deficits abound in schizophrenia and attention deficits have been documented in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Adolescent offspring of patients may inherit vulnerabilities in brain circuits that subserve these cognitive domains. Here we assess impairments in offspring of schizophrenia (SCZ-Offspring) or bipolar (BP-Offspring) patients compared to controls (HC) with no family history of mood or psychotic disorders to the second degree. Three groups (n=100 subjects; range: 10-20 yrs) of HC, SCZ-Offspring and BP-Offspring gave informed consent. Working memory was assessed using a delayed spatial memory paradigm with two levels of delay (2s & 12s); sustained attention processing was assessed using the Continuous Performance Task-Identical Pairs version. SCZ-Offspring (but not BP-Offspring) showed impairments in working memory (relative to HC) at the longer memory delay indicating a unique deficit. Both groups showed reduced sensitivity during attention but only BP-Offspring significantly differed from controls. These results suggest unique (working memory/dorsal frontal cortex) and potentially overlapping (attention/fronto-striatal cortex) vulnerability pathways in adolescent offspring of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Working memory and attention assessments in these offspring may assist in the clinical characterization of the adolescents vulnerable to SCZ or BP. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring social cognition in schizophrenia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Revsbech, Rasmus; Mortensen, Erik Lykke; Frederiksen, Julie Elisabeth Nordgaard

2017-01-01

The aim of the study was to compare social cognition between groups of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and healthy controls and to replicate two previous studies using tests of social cognition that may be particularly sensitive to social cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Thirty......-eight first-admitted patients with schizophrenia and 38 healthy controls solved 11 “imaginary conversation (i.e., theory of mind)” items, 10 “psychological understanding” items, and 10 “practical understanding” items. Statistical tests were made of unadjusted and adjusted group differences in models adjusting...... nonsignificant. When intelligence and global cognitive functioning is taken into account, schizophrenia patients and healthy controls perform similarly on social cognitive tests. © 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg...

Resting EEG deficits in accused murderers with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Schug, Robert A; Yang, Yaling; Raine, Adrian; Han, Chenbo; Liu, Jianghong; Li, Liejia

2011-10-31

Empirical evidence continues to suggest a biologically distinct violent subtype of schizophrenia. The present study examined whether murderers with schizophrenia would demonstrate resting EEG deficits distinguishing them from both non-violent schizophrenia patients and murderers without schizophrenia. Resting EEG data were collected from five diagnostic groups (normal controls, non-murderers with schizophrenia, murderers with schizophrenia, murderers without schizophrenia, and murderers with psychiatric conditions other than schizophrenia) at a brain hospital in Nanjing, China. Murderers with schizophrenia were characterized by increased left-hemispheric fast-wave EEG activity relative to non-violent schizophrenia patients, while non-violent schizophrenia patients instead demonstrated increased diffuse slow-wave activity compared to all other groups. Results are discussed within the framework of a proposed left-hemispheric over-processing hypothesis specific to violent individuals with schizophrenia, involving left hemispheric hyperarousal deficits, which may lead to a homicidally violent schizophrenia outcome. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Role of Conformity in Relation to Cohesiveness and Intimacy in Day-Hospital Groups of Patients with Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Il Ho; Park, Sun Young; Choi, Sulkee; Lee, Soo Young; Kim, Jae-Jin

2017-07-01

Conformity is defined as the act of adjusting one's behavior to match the social responses of others. Patients with schizophrenia often adjust their maladaptive behaviors by conforming in group treatment settings. This study aimed to examine whether the opinions of group members influence conformity of patients with schizophrenia who attend day-hospital programs. Nineteen patients with schizophrenia from four different day-hospital programs and 23 healthy controls from four different social clubs completed the homographic meaning choice task under conditions of prior exposure to the pseudo-opinions of their group members, strangers, and unknown information sources. Group influences on conformity were observed when the level of group cohesiveness was high and the level of intimacy was low across participant groups. Controls did not exhibit a significant effect of group influence on conformity, whereas patients were significantly influenced by their group members when making conformity-based decisions despite significantly lower intimacy and cohesiveness levels. These findings suggest that unlike controls, patients with schizophrenia tend to respond with conformity when influenced by the opinions of their affiliated group. In patients with schizophrenia group conformity may be used to select a more accurate decision and to enhance feelings of affiliation among them.

[Beliefs about psychosocial consequences of schizophrenia and depression: a comparative study in a sample of secondary school students].

Science.gov (United States)

Castiello, Giuseppina; Magliano, Lorenza

2007-01-01

Description of students' opinions about schizophrenia and depression. The study was carried out on a sample of 445 secondary school students, randomly allocated to a "schizophrenia" or a "depression" group (N = 221 and N = 224, respectively). Each respondent was asked to read a case-vignette describing a case of schizophrenia or depression, and then to fill the Questionnaire on the Opinions about Mental Illness--General Population's version (QO-GP). 35% of students in "schizophrenia" group vs. 85% in "depression" group attributed a correct diagnosis to case-vignette. 19% of students in the "schizophrenia" group vs. 39% in the "depression" group believed that these mental disorders can recover. Affective and civil rights were more frequently acknowledged to patients with depression than to those with schizophrenia. In both groups, the majority of students stated that mentally ill patients were unpredictable and socially dangerous. Students who reported TV stories on people with mentally ill were more frequently convinced on their unpredictability and social dangerousness. These results outline the need to: a) plan educational campaigns for students on mental disorders; b) alert media professionals on the impact that the way they present crimes committed by mentally ill patients may have on general population.

Group and site differences on the California Verbal Learning Test in persons with schizophrenia and their first-degree relatives: findings from the Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS).

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, William S; Giuliano, Anthony J; Tsuang, Ming T; Braff, David L; Cadenhead, Kristin S; Calkins, Monica E; Dobie, Dorcas J; Faraone, Stephen V; Freedman, Robert; Green, Michael F; Greenwood, Tiffany A; Gur, Raquel E; Gur, Ruben C; Light, Gregory A; Mintz, Jim; Nuechterlein, Keith H; Olincy, Ann; Radant, Allen D; Roe, Andrea H; Schork, Nicholas J; Siever, Larry J; Silverman, Jeremy M; Swerdlow, Neal R; Thomas, Alison R; Tsuang, Debby W; Turetsky, Bruce I; Seidman, Larry J

2011-05-01

Genetic studies of schizophrenia focus increasingly on putative endophenotypes because their genetic etiology may be simpler than clinical diagnosis. The Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS), a multisite family study, aims to identify the genetic basis of several endophenotypes including verbal declarative memory (VDM), a neurocognitive function that shows robust impairment in schizophrenia. We present data on one type of measure of VDM, the California Verbal Learning Test, Second Edition (CVLT-II), in schizophrenia probands (n=305), their full biological siblings (n=449) and parents (n=232), and in community comparison subjects (CCS; n=509) across seven sites. Probands performed more poorly on each of five CVLT-II measures compared to related sibling and parent groups and CCS. Siblings and parents performed significantly worse than CCS on one measure (Discriminability), but with smaller effect sizes and less impairment than observed previously. The results raise questions about the homogeneity of VDM as an endophenotype, about methodological issues related to sampling, and about psychometric issues that impact the utility of the CVLT for detecting VDM deficits in nonpsychotic relatives of persons with schizophrenia. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In vivo measurements of glutamate, GABA, and NAAG in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowland, Laura M; Kontson, Kimberly; West, Jeffrey; Edden, Richard A; Zhu, He; Wijtenburg, S Andrea; Holcomb, Henry H; Barker, Peter B

2013-09-01

The major excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, glutamate (Glu) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), respectively, are implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate (NAAG), a neuropeptide that modulates the Glu system, may also be altered in schizophrenia. This study investigated GABA, Glu + glutamine (Glx), and NAAG levels in younger and older subjects with schizophrenia. Forty-one subjects, 21 with chronic schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls, participated in this study. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) was used to measure GABA, Glx, and NAAG levels in the anterior cingulate (AC) and centrum semiovale (CSO) regions. NAAG in the CSO was higher in younger schizophrenia subjects compared with younger control subjects. The opposite pattern was observed in the older groups. Glx was reduced in the schizophrenia group irrespective of age group and brain region. There was a trend for reduced AC GABA in older schizophrenia subjects compared with older control subjects. Poor attention performance was correlated to lower AC GABA levels in both groups. Higher levels of CSO NAAG were associated with greater negative symptom severity in schizophrenia. These results provide support for altered glutamatergic and GABAergic function associated with illness course and cognitive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia. The study also highlights the importance of studies that combine MRS measurements of NAAG, GABA, and Glu for a more comprehensive neurochemical characterization of schizophrenia.

The MATISSE study: a randomised trial of group art therapy for people with schizophrenia

OpenAIRE

Crawford, M. J.; Killaspy, H.; Kalaitzaki, E.; Barrett, B.; Byford, S.; Patterson, S.; Soteriou, T.; O Neill, F. A.; Clayton, K.; Maratos, A.; Barnes, T. R.; Osborn, D.; Johnson, T.; King, M.; Tyrer, P.

2010-01-01

Background: Art Therapy has been promoted as a means of helping people who may find it difficult to express themselves verbally engage in psychological treatment. Group Art Therapy has been widely used as an adjunctive treatment for people with schizophrenia but there have been few attempts to examine its effects and cost effectiveness has not been examined. The MATISSE study aims to evaluate the clinical and cost effectiveness of group Art Therapy for people with schizophrenia.Method/Design:...

Performance on a probabilistic inference task in healthy subjects receiving ketamine compared with patients with schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

Almahdi, Basil; Sultan, Pervez; Sohanpal, Imrat; Brandner, Brigitta; Collier, Tracey; Shergill, Sukhi S; Cregg, Roman; Averbeck, Bruno B

2012-01-01

Evidence suggests that some aspects of schizophrenia can be induced in healthy volunteers through acute administration of the non-competitive NMDA-receptor antagonist, ketamine. In probabilistic inference tasks, patients with schizophrenia have been shown to ‘jump to conclusions’ (JTC) when asked to make a decision. We aimed to test whether healthy participants receiving ketamine would adopt a JTC response pattern resembling that of patients. The paradigmatic task used to investigate JTC has been the ‘urn’ task, where participants are shown a sequence of beads drawn from one of two ‘urns’, each containing coloured beads in different proportions. Participants make a decision when they think they know the urn from which beads are being drawn. We compared performance on the urn task between controls receiving acute ketamine or placebo with that of patients with schizophrenia and another group of controls matched to the patient group. Patients were shown to exhibit a JTC response pattern relative to their matched controls, whereas JTC was not evident in controls receiving ketamine relative to placebo. Ketamine does not appear to promote JTC in healthy controls, suggesting that ketamine does not affect probabilistic inferences. PMID:22389244

Comparing the executive function of patients with schizophrenia, acute/chronic type I disorder (manic episode, and healthy controls on Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and Continuous Performance Test

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Zare

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction: From among various cognitive deficits, deficits in executive processes have an effective role in limiting the patients’ ability to retain, acquire, and re-learn the skills necessary for real-life performance. Thus, the present study aimed to compare the executive function of patients with schizophrenia, acute/chronic type I disorder, and the healthy group. Methods: The present research was an analytical-comparative study. The statistical population consisted of all the outpatients and inpatients with acute/chronic schizophrenia and acute/chronic type I disorder (manic episode visiting Shafa Psychiatric Hospital, Rasht, Iran. Using convenience sampling, 60 male subjects aging 18-49 years old were selected in 2014-2015. They were matched for the variables of sex, age, and education level. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Continuous Performance Test, and Raven’s Progressive Matrices were administered, and the data were analyzed using MANOVA and Tukey post-hoc test. Results: A significant difference was observed between the acute/chronic schizophrenia group, acute/chronic type I disorder (manic episode, and healthy group on the two tests. Patients with schizophrenia had a weaker executive function and attention deficit compared to those with type I disorder and the healthy group (P0.05. Conclusion: Both schizophrenia and type I disorder patients show deficits in executive function and attention. However, the former group manifests higher impairment in cognitive activities, concept formation, cognitive flexibility, and attention deficit.

Mismatch negativity in chronic schizophrenia and first-episode schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Salisbury, Dean F; Shenton, Martha E; Griggs, Carlye B; Bonner-Jackson, Aaron; McCarley, Robert W

2002-08-01

Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event-related brain potential that is sensitive to stimulus deviation from a repetitive pattern. The MMN is thought primarily to reflect the activity of sensory memory, with, at most, moderate influences of higher-level cognitive processes, such as attention. The MMN is reported to be reduced in patients with chronic schizophrenia. However, it is unknown whether MMN is reduced in patients with first-episode schizophrenia (at first hospitalization). Subject groups comprised patients with chronic schizophrenia (n = 16) and older control subjects (n = 13), and patients with first-episode schizophrenia (n = 21) and younger control subjects (n = 27). The MMN was visualized by subtracting the averaged event-related brain potential to standard tones (1 kHz [95% of all tones]) from the event-related brain potential to pitch-deviant tones (1.2 kHz [5% of all tones]). The MMN voltage was the mean voltage from 100 to 200 milliseconds. Pitch-deviant MMN was reduced by approximately 47% in patients with chronic illness along the sagittal midline relative to controls. The MMN was not reduced in patients with first-episode schizophrenia. All 4 groups showed approximately 64% larger MMN to pitch-deviant tones over the right hemisphere compared with the left hemisphere. The pitch-deviant MMN reductions present in patients with chronic schizophrenia are not present at first hospitalization. The sensory, echoic memory functions indexed by MMN seem unaffected early in the schizophrenia disease process. Reductions in MMN amplitude may develop over time and index the progression of the disorder, although that can only be definitively determined by longitudinal assessments.

Exploring social cognition in schizophrenia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Revsbech, R.; Mortensen, E. L.; Nordgaard, J.

2017-01-01

The aim of the study was to compare social cognition between groups of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and healthy controls and to replicate two previous studies using tests of social cognition that may be particularly sensitive to social cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Thirty......-eight first-admitted patients with schizophrenia and 38 healthy controls solved 11 “imaginary conversation (i.e., theory of mind)” items, 10 “psychological understanding” items, and 10 “practical understanding” items. Statistical tests were made of unadjusted and adjusted group differences in models adjusting...... for intelligence and neuropsychological test performance. Healthy controls performed better than patients on all types of social cognitive tests, particularly on “psychological understanding.” However, after adjusting for intelligence and neuropsychological test performance, all group differences became...

HIGHER SERUM CAFFEINE IN SMOKERS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA COMPARED TO SMOKING CONTROLS

OpenAIRE

Gandhi, Kunal K; Williams, Jill M; Menza, Matthew; Galazyn, Magdalena; Benowitz, Neal L.

2010-01-01

Previous studies of high dietary caffeine intake in individuals with schizophrenia have not demonstrated biological evidence of higher intake or controlled smoking behavior. This study aimed to examine differences in serum caffeine levels in 104 smokers with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder (SCZ/SA) and compare them to 63 smokers without any mental illness (CON). Since we were interested in measuring caffeine levels, we excluded all non caffeine users from the study. Blood draws were st...

Eugen Bleuler's Dementia Praecox or the Group of Schizophrenias (1911): A Centenary Appreciation and Reconsideration

Science.gov (United States)

Moskowitz, Andrew; Heim, Gerhard

2011-01-01

On the 100th anniversary of the publication of Eugen Bleuler's Dementia Praecox or the Group of Schizophrenias, his teachings on schizophrenia from that seminal book are reviewed and reassessed, and implications for the current revision of the category of schizophrenia, with its emphasis on psychotic symptoms, drawn. Bleuler's methods are contrasted with Kraepelin's, and 4 myths about his concept of schizophrenia addressed. We demonstrate that (1) Bleuler's concept of schizophrenia has close ties to historical and contemporary concepts of dissociation and as such the public interpretation of schizophrenia as split personality has some historical basis; (2) Bleuler's concept of loosening of associations does not refer narrowly to a disorder of thought but broadly to a core organically based psychological deficit which underlies the other symptoms of schizophrenia; (3) the “4 A's,” for association, affect, ambivalence, and autism, do not adequately summarize Bleuler's teachings on schizophrenia and marginalize the central role of splitting in his conception; and (4) Bleuler's ideas were more powerfully influenced by Pierre Janet, particularly with regard to his diagnostic category Psychasthenia, than by Sigmund Freud. We conclude that Bleuler's ideas on schizophrenia warrant reexamination in the light of current criticism of the emphasis on psychotic symptoms in the schizophrenia diagnosis and argue for the recognition of the dissociative roots of this most important psychiatric category. PMID:21505113

Sustained and "sleeper" effects of group metacognitive training for schizophrenia: a randomized clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Moritz, Steffen; Veckenstedt, Ruth; Andreou, Christina; Bohn, Francesca; Hottenrott, Birgit; Leighton, Lucy; Köther, Ulf; Woodward, Todd S; Treszl, András; Menon, Mahesh; Schneider, Brooke C; Pfueller, Ute; Roesch-Ely, Daniela

2014-10-01

Cognitive interventions increasingly complement psychopharmacological treatment to enhance symptomatic and functional outcome in schizophrenia. Metacognitive training (MCT) is targeted at cognitive biases involved in the pathogenesis of delusions. To examine the long-term efficacy of group MCT for schizophrenia in order to explore whether previously established effects were sustained. A 2-center, randomized, controlled, assessor-blind, parallel group trial was conducted. A total of 150 inpatients or outpatients with DSM-IV diagnoses of schizophrenia spectrum disorders were enrolled. All patients were prescribed antipsychotic medication. The second follow-up assessment took place 3 years later after the intervention phase was terminated. Group MCT targeting cognitive biases vs neuropsychological training (COGPACK). Patients received a maximum of 16 sessions. The primary outcome measure was a delusion score derived from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). The PANSS positive syndrome and total scores, the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales, the jumping to conclusions bias, self-esteem, and quality of life served as secondary outcome measures. The intention-to-treat analyses demonstrated that patients in the MCT group had significantly greater reductions in the core PANSS delusion score, after 3 years compared with the control group (η2partial = .037; P = .05). Among the secondary outcomes, the intention-to-treat analyses also demonstrated that patients in the MCT group had significantly greater reductions in the PANSS positive syndrome score (η2partial = .055; P = .02) and the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales delusion score (η2partial = .109; P = .001). Significant group differences at the 3-year follow-up were also found on measures of self-esteem and quality of life, which did not distinguish groups at earlier assessment points. Attention was improved in the neuropsychological training group relative to the MCT group. The

A Neuroanatomical Signature for Schizophrenia Across Different Ethnic Groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Qiyong; Dazzan, Paola; Scarpazza, Cristina; Kasai, Kyioto; Hu, Xinyu; Marques, Tiago R; Iwashiro, Norichika; Huang, Xiaoqi; Murray, Robin M; Koike, Shinsuke; David, Anthony S; Yamasue, Hidenori; Lui, Su; Mechelli, Andrea

2015-11-01

Schizophrenia is a disabling clinical syndrome found across the world. While the incidence and clinical expression of this illness are strongly influenced by ethnic factors, it is unclear whether patients from different ethnicities show distinct brain deficits. In this multicentre study, we used structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging to investigate neuroanatomy in 126 patients with first episode schizophrenia who came from 4 ethnically distinct cohorts (White Caucasians, African-Caribbeans, Japanese, and Chinese). Each patient was individually matched with a healthy control of the same ethnicity, gender, and age (±1 year). We report a reduction in the gray matter volume of the right anterior insula in patients relative to controls (P ethnic groups despite differences in psychopathology, exposure to antipsychotic medication and image acquisition sequence. This finding provides evidence for a neuroanatomical signature of schizophrenia expressed above and beyond ethnic variations in incidence and clinical expression. In light of the existing literature, implicating the right anterior insula in bipolar disorder, depression, addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety, we speculate that the neuroanatomical deficit reported here may represent a transdiagnostic feature of Axis I disorders. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center.

Moderating factors for the effectiveness of group art therapy for schizophrenia: secondary analysis of data from the MATISSE randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Leurent, Baptiste; Killaspy, Helen; Osborn, David P; Crawford, Mike J; Hoadley, Angela; Waller, Diane; King, Michael

2014-11-01

Although some studies suggest that art therapy may be useful in the treatment of negative symptoms of schizophrenia, a recent large trial of group art therapy found no clinical advantage over standard care, but the study population was heterogeneous and uptake of the intervention was poor. This study aimed to investigate whether art therapy was more effective for specific subgroups of patients. Secondary analysis of data from a randomised controlled trial of group art therapy as an adjunctive treatment for schizophrenia (n = 140) versus standard care alone (n = 137). Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale scores at 12 months were compared between trial arms. Interaction between intervention effect and different subgroups, including those with more severe negative symptoms of schizophrenia, and those who expressed a preference for art therapy prior to randomisation, was tested using a linear mixed model. The clinical effectiveness of group art therapy did not significantly differ between participants with more or less severe negative symptoms [interaction for difference in PANSS = 1.7, 95 % CI (-8.6 to 12.1), P = 0.741], or between those who did and did not express a preference for art therapy [interaction = 3.9, 95 % CI (-6.7 to 14.5), P = 0.473]. None of the other exploratory subgroups suggested differences in intervention effect. There was no evidence of greater improvement in clinical symptoms of schizophrenia for those with more severe negative symptoms or those with a preference for art therapy. Identification of patients with schizophrenia who may benefit most from group art therapy remains elusive.

Altered brain arginine metabolism in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, P; Jing, Y; Collie, N D; Dean, B; Bilkey, D K; Zhang, H

2016-08-16

Previous research implicates altered metabolism of l-arginine, a versatile amino acid with a number of bioactive metabolites, in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. The present study, for we believe the first time, systematically compared the metabolic profile of l-arginine in the frontal cortex (Brodmann's area 8) obtained post-mortem from schizophrenic individuals and age- and gender-matched non-psychiatric controls (n=20 per group). The enzyme assays revealed no change in total nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity, but significantly increased arginase activity in the schizophrenia group. Western blot showed reduced endothelial NOS protein expression and increased arginase II protein level in the disease group. High-performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometric assays confirmed significantly reduced levels of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), but increased agmatine concentration and glutamate/GABA ratio in the schizophrenia cases. Regression analysis indicated positive correlations between arginase activity and the age of disease onset and between l-ornithine level and the duration of illness. Moreover, cluster analyses revealed that l-arginine and its main metabolites l-citrulline, l-ornithine and agmatine formed distinct groups, which were altered in the schizophrenia group. The present study provides further evidence of altered brain arginine metabolism in schizophrenia, which enhances our understanding of the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and may lead to the future development of novel preventions and/or therapeutics for the disease.

Interoception and positive symptoms in Schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina Ardizzi

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The present study focuses on the multifaceted concept of self-disturbance in schizophrenia, adding knowledge about a not yet investigated aspect, which is the interoceptive accuracy. Starting from the assumption that interoceptive accuracy requires an intact sense of self, which otherwise was proved to be altered in schizophrenia, the aim of the present study was to explore interoceptive accuracy in a group of schizophrenia patients, compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, the possible association between interoceptive accuracy and patients’ positive and negative symptomatology was assessed. To pursue these goals, a group of 23 schizophrenia patients and a group of 23 healthy controls performed a heartbeat perception task. Patients’ symptomatology was assessed by means of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS. Results demonstrated significantly lower interoceptive accuracy in schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls. This difference was not accounted for participants’ age, BMI, anxiety levels and heart rate. Furthermore, patients’ illness severity, attention and pharmacological treatment did not influence their interoceptive accuracy levels. Interestingly, a strong positive relation between interoceptive accuracy and positive symptoms severity, especially Grandiosity, was found. The present results demonstrate for the first time that interoceptive accuracy is altered in schizophrenia. Furthermore, they prove a specific association between interoceptive accuracy and positive symptomatology, suggesting that the symptom Grandiosity might be protective against an altered basic sense of self in patients characterized by higher sensibility to their inner bodily sensations.

Deficits in Degraded Facial Affect Labeling in Schizophrenia and Borderline Personality Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

van Dijke, Annemiek; van 't Wout, Mascha; Ford, Julian D; Aleman, André

2016-01-01

Although deficits in facial affect processing have been reported in schizophrenia as well as in borderline personality disorder (BPD), these disorders have not yet been directly compared on facial affect labeling. Using degraded stimuli portraying neutral, angry, fearful and angry facial expressions, we hypothesized more errors in labeling negative facial expressions in patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. Patients with BPD were expected to have difficulty in labeling neutral expressions and to display a bias towards a negative attribution when wrongly labeling neutral faces. Patients with schizophrenia (N = 57) and patients with BPD (N = 30) were compared to patients with somatoform disorder (SoD, a psychiatric control group; N = 25) and healthy control participants (N = 41) on facial affect labeling accuracy and type of misattributions. Patients with schizophrenia showed deficits in labeling angry and fearful expressions compared to the healthy control group and patients with BPD showed deficits in labeling neutral expressions compared to the healthy control group. Schizophrenia and BPD patients did not differ significantly from each other when labeling any of the facial expressions. Compared to SoD patients, schizophrenia patients showed deficits on fearful expressions, but BPD did not significantly differ from SoD patients on any of the facial expressions. With respect to the type of misattributions, BPD patients mistook neutral expressions more often for fearful expressions compared to schizophrenia patients and healthy controls, and less often for happy compared to schizophrenia patients. These findings suggest that although schizophrenia and BPD patients demonstrate different as well as similar facial affect labeling deficits, BPD may be associated with a tendency to detect negative affect in neutral expressions.

Deficits in Degraded Facial Affect Labeling in Schizophrenia and Borderline Personality Disorder.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annemiek van Dijke

Full Text Available Although deficits in facial affect processing have been reported in schizophrenia as well as in borderline personality disorder (BPD, these disorders have not yet been directly compared on facial affect labeling. Using degraded stimuli portraying neutral, angry, fearful and angry facial expressions, we hypothesized more errors in labeling negative facial expressions in patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. Patients with BPD were expected to have difficulty in labeling neutral expressions and to display a bias towards a negative attribution when wrongly labeling neutral faces. Patients with schizophrenia (N = 57 and patients with BPD (N = 30 were compared to patients with somatoform disorder (SoD, a psychiatric control group; N = 25 and healthy control participants (N = 41 on facial affect labeling accuracy and type of misattributions. Patients with schizophrenia showed deficits in labeling angry and fearful expressions compared to the healthy control group and patients with BPD showed deficits in labeling neutral expressions compared to the healthy control group. Schizophrenia and BPD patients did not differ significantly from each other when labeling any of the facial expressions. Compared to SoD patients, schizophrenia patients showed deficits on fearful expressions, but BPD did not significantly differ from SoD patients on any of the facial expressions. With respect to the type of misattributions, BPD patients mistook neutral expressions more often for fearful expressions compared to schizophrenia patients and healthy controls, and less often for happy compared to schizophrenia patients. These findings suggest that although schizophrenia and BPD patients demonstrate different as well as similar facial affect labeling deficits, BPD may be associated with a tendency to detect negative affect in neutral expressions.

Personality features in ultra-high risk for psychosis: a comparative study with schizophrenia and control subjects using the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R).

Science.gov (United States)

Fresán, Ana; León-Ortiz, Pablo; Robles-García, Rebeca; Azcárraga, Mariana; Guizar, Diana; Reyes-Madrigal, Francisco; Tovilla-Zárate, Carlos Alfonso; de la Fuente-Sandoval, Camilo

2015-02-01

Several variables have been identified as risk factors for conversion to overt psychosis in ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR) individuals. Although almost two-thirds of them do not experience a transition to psychosis, they still exhibit functional disabilities. Other subjective developmental features may be useful for a more precise identification of individuals at UHR. Avoidant behaviors are consistently reported in schizophrenia and in UHR individuals and may be the reflection of a pattern of personality. Thus, personality features in UHR individuals deserves further research. The objective of the present study was to compare temperament and character dimensions between UHR individuals, patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. One hundred participants (25 UHR individuals, 25 schizophrenia patients and 50 control subjects) where evaluated with the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R). Univariate ANOVAs followed by Bonferroni tests were used. UHR individuals and schizophrenia patients exhibited higher levels of Harm Avoidance (HA) when compared to control subjects. For HA1 Anticipatory worry vs Uninhibited optimism and HA4 Fatigability & asthenia, UHR and schizophrenia groups showed similar scores and both groups were higher compared to control subjects. With respect to Cooperativeness (CO), UHR and schizophrenia reported lower scores than control subjects, in particular CO2 Empathy vs Social disinterest and CO3 Helpfulness vs unhelpfulness. This study replicates and extends the consideration of HA as a psychopathological related endophenotype and gives us further information of the possible role of personality features in the expression of some of the social dysfunctions observed both in prodromal subjects and schizophrenia patients. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patients with schizophrenia do not preserve automatic grouping when mentally re-grouping figures: shedding light on an ignored difficulty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne eGiersch

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Looking at a pair of objects is easy when automatic grouping mechanisms bind these objects together, but visual exploration can also be more flexible. It is possible to mentally ‘re-group’ two objects that are not only separate but belong to different pairs of objects. ‘Re-grouping’ is in conflict with automatic grouping, since it entails a separation of each item from the set it belongs to. This ability appears to be impaired in patients with schizophrenia. Here we check if this impairment is selective, which would suggest a dissociation between grouping and ‘re-grouping’, or if it impacts on usual, automatic grouping, which would call for a better understanding of the interactions between automatic grouping and ‘re-grouping’. Sixteen outpatients with schizophrenia and healthy controls had to identify two identical and contiguous target figures within a display of circles and squares alternating around a fixation point. Eye-tracking was used to check central fixation. The target pair could be located in the same or separate hemifields. Identical figures were grouped by a connector (grouped automatically or not (to be re-grouped. Attention modulation of automatic grouping was tested by manipulating the proportion of connected and unconnected targets, thus prompting subjects to focalize on either connected or unconnected pairs. Both groups were sensitive to automatic grouping in most conditions, but patients were unusually slowed down for connected targets while focalizing on unconnected pairs. In addition, this unusual effect occurred only when target were presented within the same hemifield. Patients and controls differed on this asymmetry between within- and across-hemifield presentation, suggesting that patients with schizophrenia do not re-group figures in the same way as controls do. We discuss possible implications on how ‘re-grouping’ ties in with ongoing, automatic perception in healthy volunteers.

Problem solving skills for schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, J; Li, Chunbo

2007-04-18

The severe and long-lasting symptoms of schizophrenia are often the cause of severe disability. Environmental stress such as life events and the practical problems people face in their daily can worsen the symptoms of schizophrenia. Deficits in problem solving skills in people with schizophrenia affect their independent and interpersonal functioning and impair their quality of life. As a result, therapies such as problem solving therapy have been developed to improve problem solving skills for people with schizophrenia. To review the effectiveness of problem solving therapy compared with other comparable therapies or routine care for those with schizophrenia. We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Register (September 2006), which is based on regular searches of BIOSIS, CENTRAL, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE and PsycINFO. We inspected references of all identified studies for further trials. We included all clinical randomised trials comparing problem solving therapy with other comparable therapies or routine care. We extracted data independently. For homogenous dichotomous data we calculated random effects, relative risk (RR), 95% confidence intervals (CI) and, where appropriate, numbers needed to treat (NNT) on an intention-to-treat basis. For continuous data, we calculated weighted mean differences (WMD) using a random effects statistical model. We included only three small trials (n=52) that evaluated problem solving versus routine care, coping skills training or non-specific interaction. Inadequate reporting of data rendered many outcomes unusable. We were unable to undertake meta-analysis. Overall results were limited and inconclusive with no significant differences between treatment groups for hospital admission, mental state, behaviour, social skills or leaving the study early. No data were presented for global state, quality of life or satisfaction. We found insufficient evidence to confirm or refute the benefits of problem solving therapy as an additional

Impaired theory of mind in first-episode schizophrenia: comparison with community, university and depressed controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Kettle, Jonathan W L; O'Brien-Simpson, Laurie; Allen, Nicholas B

2008-02-01

First order theory of mind, as measured by the 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test' Revised, is impaired in schizophrenia. However, no study has investigated whether this occurs in first-episode schizophrenia. Also, it is unclear whether such a deficit is specific to schizophrenia, and whether convenience control samples, particularly undergraduate university students, represent valid comparison groups. This study investigated theory of mind ability, measured by the 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test' Revised, in a group of first-episode schizophrenia outpatients (n=13) and three control groups: outpatients with non-psychotic major depression (n=14), individuals from the general community (n=16) and from an undergraduate university course (n=27). The schizophrenia group exhibited significant theory of mind impairments compared to both non-psychiatric control groups but not the depression group. Unexpectedly, the depression group was not significantly impaired compared to the community control group, and the university control group exhibited superior theory of mind ability relative to all three groups. The findings indicate theory of mind deficits in first episode schizophrenia and support the implementation of theory of mind interventions in first-episode schizophrenia treatment programs. Results also indicate that community rather than university control groups represent more valid comparison groups in first-episode schizophrenia research.

Expression of schizophrenia in black Xhosa-speaking and white ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective. To inv:estigate whether schizophrenia manifests itself differently in Xhosa-speaking South Africans, compared with English-speaking white South Africans. Design. A comparative study ·of the presentation of schizophrenia in two groups of patients. Settings and subjects. A sample of 63 patients (43 Xhosaspeaking ...

Tolerability and efficacy of paliperidone ER compared to olanzapine in the treatment of schizophrenia: A randomized, double-blind, multicentric trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandip Shah

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Paliperidone is an active metabolite of risperidone and actss through a combination of central dopamine Type 2 (D2 and serotonin Type 2 (5HT2A receptor antagonism. Aim: The present randomized, double-blind, multicentric trial was designed to determine the safety and efficacy of paliperidone extended release (ER compared to olanzapine in the treatment of acute schizophrenia. Materials and Methods: A total of 214 patients with diagnosis of schizophrenia were randomized to paliperidone ER (n=109 and olanzapine (n=106 treatment groups. Totally 206 patients were evaluated for efficacy parameters using Positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS score and Clinical Global Impression-severity of illness (CGI-S and Clinical Global Impression-improvement of illness (CGI-I scales. Safety was assessed by treatment-emergent adverse events and movement disorders. Results: All patients showed significant reduction in PANSS scores at the end of treatment. However, the results were comparable and there was no significant difference at the end of the trial between paliperidone ER group and olanzapine group. Both the treatment groups showed decrease in the severity of illness and improvement in symptomatology. The most common adverse events reported in paliperidone ER versus olanzapine group were Extra Pyramidal Syndrome (EPS (13.7% vs. 15.6%, headache (12.7% vs. 8.9%, increased appetite (8.8% vs. 10.0% and drowsiness (4.9% vs. 303%. There was no clinically relevant difference in change from baseline to the end of the trial in abnormal involuntary movement scale (AIMS and barnes akathisia rating scale (BARS total scores between both the groups. Conclusion: Paliperidone ER is effective in controlling schizophrenic symptoms as well as exhibits comparable tolerability profile. Thus, paliperidone ER has the potential to be a useful new treatment option for patients with schizophrenia.

Serum cytokine contents in schizophrenia patient with metabolic syndrome and their correlation with nerve electrophysiology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li-Yong Chen

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Objective: To analyze serum cytokine contents in schizophrenia patient with metabolic syndrome (MS and their correlation with nerve electrophysiology. Methods: A total of 90 chizophrenia patient with MS, including 41 cases with simple schizophrenia and 39 cases with simple metabolic syndrome were included for study. The values of nerve electrophysiology indexes and serum illness-related indexes were compared among included patients, and the correlation between the two was further analyzed. Results: Compared with simple schizophrenia group and simple MS group, P300 latency of schizophrenia with MS group was longer, and the amplitude was shorter; N2-P3 latency and amplitude were shorter (P<0.05; serum SOD, S100b, BDNF, ABAb, PAI-1, 毩-HBDH, AST, cystatin c, TG, FBG and 2hPG values of schizophrenia with MS group were higher, IGF1, HMW-APN and HDL-C levels were lower, and compared with simple schizophrenia group and simple MS group, differences were significant (P<0.05; P300 latency, P300 amplitude, N2-P3 latency and N2- P3 amplitude of schizophrenia with MS group were directly correlated with serum cytokine contents (P<0.05. Conclusions: There are significantly abnormal serum cytokines and nerve electrophysiology indexes in schizophrenia patient with MS, and nerve electrophysiology detection can be used as the means to judge disease and guide treatment.

Schizophrenia and smoking: impact on negative symptoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miriam Saliba

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: it has been hypothesized that individuals with schizophrenia use nicotine to reduce negative symptoms and improve cognitive function. There is an inconsistency in the literature suggesting that nicotine could help decrease negative symptoms in schizophrenic patients. Objective: to investigate the effects of nicotine on the expression of the negative symptoms in smokers and non-smokers with schizophrenia. Methods: a cross sectional study, conducted between April and August 2016, 100 inpatients with schizophrenia (54 smokers and 46 non-smokers diagnosed according to DSM-V, at Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross Lebanon, were compared to changes in clinical parameters using CDSS, PANSS, and nicotine dependence using FTND. The Student’s t-test was used to compare between 2 groups, while the ANOVA test was used to compare between 3 or more groups. For categorical variables, the chi-2 test was used. Results: the mean age was 47.16 years (SD = 7.14 for smokers compared to 47.02 years (SD = 7.92 for non-smokers. 64.8% of smokers were males versus 45.7% of non-smokers. Smoking (high nicotine dependence significantly decreases the PANSS negative symptoms score between the 2 groups (p .05 for both variables. Discussion and conclusion: this study is the first to investigate the relationship between the expression of negative symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia and smoking in Lebanon. Cigarette smoking rates remain remarkably high in patients with schizophrenia. Smoking is a complex process which involves psychopathological, biochemical and neuropharmacological aspects among schizophrenic patients. Further studies are needed to acknowledge these findings and the reasons behind it.

Brain neurodevelopmental markers related to the deficit subtype of schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Tsutomu; Takayanagi, Yoichiro; Nishikawa, Yumiko; Nakamura, Mihoko; Komori, Yuko; Furuichi, Atsushi; Kido, Mikio; Sasabayashi, Daiki; Noguchi, Kyo; Suzuki, Michio

2017-08-30

Deficit schizophrenia is a homogeneous subtype characterized by a trait-like feature of primary and prominent negative symptoms, but the etiologic factors related to this specific subtype remain largely unknown. This magnetic resonance imaging study aimed to examine gross brain morphology that probably reflects early neurodevelopment in 38 patients with deficit schizophrenia, 37 patients with non-deficit schizophrenia, and 59 healthy controls. Potential brain neurodevelopmental markers investigated in this study were the adhesio interthalamica (AI), cavum septi pellucidi (CSP), and surface morphology (i.e., olfactory sulcus depth, sulcogyral pattern, and number of orbital sulci) of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). The subtype classification of schizophrenia patients was based on the score of Proxy for the Deficit Syndrome. The deficit schizophrenia group had a significantly shorter AI compared with the non-deficit group and controls. The deficit group, but not the non-deficit group, was also characterized by an altered distribution of the OFC sulcogyral pattern, as well as fewer posterior orbital sulcus compared with controls. Other neurodevelopmental markers did not differentiate the deficit and non-deficit subgroups. These results suggest that the deficit subtype of schizophrenia and its clinical manifestation may be at least partly related to prominent neurodevelopmental pathology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sound improves diminished visual temporal sensitivity in schizophrenia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Boer-Schellekens, L.; Stekelenburg, J.J.; Maes, J.P.; van Gool, A.R.; Vroomen, J.

2014-01-01

Visual temporal processing and multisensory integration (MSI) of sound and vision were examined in individuals with schizophrenia using a visual temporal order judgment (TOJ) task. Compared to a non-psychiatric control group, persons with schizophrenia were less sensitive judging the temporal order

Social skills programmes for schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Almerie, Muhammad Qutayba; Okba Al Marhi, Muhammad; Jawoosh, Muhammad; Alsabbagh, Mohamad; Matar, Hosam E; Maayan, Nicola; Bergman, Hanna

2015-06-09

Social skills programmes (SSP) are treatment strategies aimed at enhancing the social performance and reducing the distress and difficulty experienced by people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and can be incorporated as part of the rehabilitation package for people with schizophrenia. The primary objective is to investigate the effects of social skills training programmes, compared to standard care, for people with schizophrenia. We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Trials Register (November 2006 and December 2011) which is based on regular searches of CINAHL, BIOSIS, AMED, EMBASE, PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and registries of clinical trials. We inspected references of all identified studies for further trials.A further search for studies has been conducted by the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group in 2015, 37 citations have been found and are currently being assessed by review authors. We included all relevant randomised controlled trials for social skills programmes versus standard care involving people with serious mental illnesses. We extracted data independently. For dichotomous data we calculated risk ratios (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) on an intention-to-treat basis. For continuous data, we calculated mean differences (MD) and 95% CIs. We included 13 randomised trials (975 participants). These evaluated social skills programmes versus standard care, or discussion group. We found evidence in favour of social skills programmes compared to standard care on all measures of social functioning. We also found that rates of relapse and rehospitalisation were lower for social skills compared to standard care (relapse: 2 RCTs, n = 263, RR 0.52 CI 0.34 to 0.79, very low quality evidence), (rehospitalisation: 1 RCT, n = 143, RR 0.53 CI 0.30 to 0.93, very low quality evidence) and participants' mental state results (1 RCT, n = 91, MD -4.01 CI -7.52 to -0.50, very low quality evidence) were better in the group receiving social skill programmes

Altered Cerebral Blood Flow Covariance Network in Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Feng; Zhuo, Chuanjun; Yu, Chunshui

2016-01-01

Many studies have shown abnormal cerebral blood flow (CBF) in schizophrenia; however, it remains unclear how topological properties of CBF network are altered in this disorder. Here, arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI was employed to measure resting-state CBF in 96 schizophrenia patients and 91 healthy controls. CBF covariance network of each group was constructed by calculating across-subject CBF covariance between 90 brain regions. Graph theory was used to compare intergroup differences in global and nodal topological measures of the network. Both schizophrenia patients and healthy controls had small-world topology in CBF covariance networks, implying an optimal balance between functional segregation and integration. Compared with healthy controls, schizophrenia patients showed reduced small-worldness, normalized clustering coefficient and local efficiency of the network, suggesting a shift toward randomized network topology in schizophrenia. Furthermore, schizophrenia patients exhibited altered nodal centrality in the perceptual-, affective-, language-, and spatial-related regions, indicating functional disturbance of these systems in schizophrenia. This study demonstrated for the first time that schizophrenia patients have disrupted topological properties in CBF covariance network, which provides a new perspective (efficiency of blood flow distribution between brain regions) for understanding neural mechanisms of schizophrenia.

Perisylvian GABA levels in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Atagün, Murat İlhan; Şıkoğlu, Elif Muazzez; Soykan, Çağlar; Serdar Süleyman, Can; Ulusoy-Kaymak, Semra; Çayköylü, Ali; Algın, Oktay; Phillips, Mary Louise; Öngür, Dost; Moore, Constance Mary

2017-01-10

The aim of this study is to measure GABA levels of perisylvian cortices in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder patients, using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H-MRS). Patients with schizophrenia (n=25), bipolar I disorder (BD-I; n=28) and bipolar II disorder (BD-II; n=20) were compared with healthy controls (n=30). 1 H-MRS data was acquired using a Siemens 3T whole body scanner to quantify right and left perisylvian structures' (including superior temporal lobes) GABA levels. Right perisylvian GABA values differed significantly between groups [χ 2 =9.62, df: 3, p=0.022]. GABA levels were significantly higher in the schizophrenia group compared with the healthy control group (p=0.002). Furthermore, Chlorpromazine equivalent doses of antipsychotics correlated with right hemisphere GABA levels (r 2 =0.68, p=0.006, n=33). GABA levels are elevated in the right hemisphere in patients with schizophrenia in comparison to bipolar disorder and healthy controls. The balance between excitatory and inhibitory controls over the cortical circuits may have direct relationship with GABAergic functions in auditory cortices. In addition, GABA levels may be altered by brain regions of interest, psychotropic medications, and clinical stage in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Insight and Treatment Outcomes in Schizophrenia: Post-hoc Analysis of a Long-term, Double-blind Study Comparing Lurasidone and Quetiapine XR.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Philip D; Siu, Cynthia O; Loebel, Antony D

2017-12-01

Objective: The objective of this post-hoc analysis was to evaluate the effect of lurasidone and quetiapine extended-release (XR) on insight and judgment and assess the longitudinal relationships between improvement in insight and cognitive performance, functional capacity, quality of well-being, and depressive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Design: Clinically unstable patients with schizophrenia (N=488) were randomized to once-daily, fixed-dose treatment with lurasidone 80mg, lurasidone 160mg, quetiapine XR 600mg, or placebo, followed by a long-term, double-blind, flexible-dose continuation study involving these agents. Results: Significantly greater improvement in insight and judgment (assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale G12 item) for the lurasidone and quetiapine XR groups, compared to the placebo group, was observed at Week 6. Over a subsequent six-month continuation period, the flexible dose lurasidone group showed significantly greater improvement in insight from acute phase baseline compared to the flexible-dose quetiapine XR group (QXR-QXR) (p=0.032). Improvement in insight was significantly correlated with improvement in cognition ( p =0.014), functional capacity (p=0.006, UPSA-B), quality of well-being ( p =0.033, QWB), and depressive symptoms ( p =0.05, Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale [MADRS] score) across treatment groups and study periods. Conclusion: In this post-hoc analysis, flexibly dosed lurasidone 40 to 160mg/d was found to be associated with significantly greater improvement in insight compared to flexibly dosed quetiapine XR 200 to 800mg/d over long-term treatment in patients with schizophrenia. Across treatment groups, improvement in insight and judgment was significantly associated with improvement in cognition, functional capacity, quality of well-being, and depressive symptoms over time.

Impairment in emotional modulation of attention and memory in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh-Messinger, Julie; Ramirez, Paul Michael; Wong, Philip; Antonius, Daniel; Aujero, Nicole; McMahon, Kevin; Opler, Lewis A; Malaspina, Dolores

2014-08-01

Emotion plays a critical role in cognition and goal-directed behavior via complex interconnections between the emotional and motivational systems. It has been hypothesized that the impairment in goal-directed behavior widely noted in schizophrenia may result from defects in the interaction between the neural (ventral) emotional system and (rostral) cortical processes. The present study examined the impact of emotion on attention and memory in schizophrenia. Twenty-five individuals with schizophrenia related psychosis and 25 healthy control subjects were administered a computerized task in which they were asked to search for target images during a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation of pictures. Target stimuli were either positive or negative, or neutral images presented at either 200ms or 700ms lag. Additionally, a visual hedonic task was used to assess differences between the schizophrenia group and controls on ratings of valence and arousal from the picture stimuli. Compared to controls, individuals with schizophrenia detected fewer emotional images under both the 200ms and 700ms lag conditions. Multivariate analyses showed that the schizophrenia group also detected fewer positive images under the 700ms lag condition and fewer negative images under the 200ms lag condition. Individuals with schizophrenia reported higher pleasantness and unpleasantness ratings than controls in response to neutral stimuli, while controls reported higher arousal ratings for neutral and positive stimuli compared to the schizophrenia group. These results highlight dysfunction in the neural modulation of emotion, attention, and cortical processing in schizophrenia, adding to the growing but mixed body of literature on emotion processing in the disorder. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Effect of semantic coherence on episodic memory processes in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Battal Merlet, Lâle; Morel, Shasha; Blanchet, Alain; Lockman, Hazlin; Kostova, Milena

2014-12-30

Schizophrenia is associated with severe episodic retrieval impairment. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility that schizophrenia patients could improve their familiarity and/or recollection processes by manipulating the semantic coherence of to-be-learned stimuli and using deep encoding. Twelve schizophrenia patients and 12 healthy controls of comparable age, gender, and educational level undertook an associative recognition memory task. The stimuli consisted of pairs of words that were either related or unrelated to a given semantic category. The process dissociation procedure was used to calculate the estimates of familiarity and recollection processes. Both groups showed enhanced memory performances for semantically related words. However, in healthy controls, semantic relatedness led to enhanced recollection, while in schizophrenia patients, it induced enhanced familiarity. The familiarity estimates for related words were comparable in both groups, indicating that familiarity could be used as a compensatory mechanism in schizophrenia patients. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of attempted suicide by patients with schizophrenia compared with those with mood disorders: a case-controlled study in northern Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Ishii, Takao; Hashimoto, Eri; Ukai, Wataru; Kakutani, Yohei; Sasaki, Ryuji; Saito, Toshikazu

2014-01-01

Recent reports suggest a lifetime suicide risk for schizophrenia patients of approximately 5%. This figure is significantly higher than the general population suicide risk consequently, detection of those at risk is clinically important. This study was undertaken to define the characteristics of suicide attempts by schizophrenia patients compared with attempts by patients with mood disorders. All patients were diagnosed using the ICD-10 criteria. The study population comprised 65 patients with F2 disorders (schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders), i.e., "the F2 group", and 94 patients with F3 disorders (mood disorders), i.e., "the F3 group", who presented in the clinical setting of consultation-liaison psychiatry. The F2 group had a significantly younger mean age and significantly higher ratios of 'past/present psychiatric treatment' and 'more than 3 months interruption of psychiatric treatment'. In contrast, the ratios of 'physical disorder comorbidity', 'alcohol intake at suicide attempt' and 'suicide note left behind' were significantly higher in the F3 group. The F2 group attempted suicide by significantly more serious methods. Furthermore, 'hallucination-delusion' was the most prevalent motive in the F2 group and was the only factor that showed a significant association with the seriousness of the method of suicide attempt (OR = 3.36, 95% CI: 1.05-11.33).

Characteristics of attempted suicide by patients with schizophrenia compared with those with mood disorders: a case-controlled study in northern Japan.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takao Ishii

Full Text Available Recent reports suggest a lifetime suicide risk for schizophrenia patients of approximately 5%. This figure is significantly higher than the general population suicide risk consequently, detection of those at risk is clinically important. This study was undertaken to define the characteristics of suicide attempts by schizophrenia patients compared with attempts by patients with mood disorders. All patients were diagnosed using the ICD-10 criteria. The study population comprised 65 patients with F2 disorders (schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders, i.e., "the F2 group", and 94 patients with F3 disorders (mood disorders, i.e., "the F3 group", who presented in the clinical setting of consultation-liaison psychiatry. The F2 group had a significantly younger mean age and significantly higher ratios of 'past/present psychiatric treatment' and 'more than 3 months interruption of psychiatric treatment'. In contrast, the ratios of 'physical disorder comorbidity', 'alcohol intake at suicide attempt' and 'suicide note left behind' were significantly higher in the F3 group. The F2 group attempted suicide by significantly more serious methods. Furthermore, 'hallucination-delusion' was the most prevalent motive in the F2 group and was the only factor that showed a significant association with the seriousness of the method of suicide attempt (OR = 3.36, 95% CI: 1.05-11.33.

Antipsychotic treatment for children and adolescents with schizophrenia spectrum disorders

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pagsberg, Anne Katrine; Tarp, Simon; Glintborg, D

2014-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Antipsychotic treatment in early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) lacks a rich evidence base, and efforts to rank different drugs concerning their efficacy have not proven any particular drug superior. In contrast to the literature regarding adult-onset schizophrenia (AOS), comparative...... allocate children and adolescents presenting with schizophrenia or a related non-affective psychotic condition to an intervention group or to a control group. Two reviewers will-independently and in duplicate-screen titles and abstracts, complete full text reviews to determine eligibility, and subsequently...

Study of Attention Deficit in Patients with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SM Kafi

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background & aim: Attention deficit has significant effect on the life of patients suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The aim of this study was to assess the attention deficit in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: In the present post-hoc study, 132 patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were selected via non-randomized sampling at Shafa Hospital (Rasht, Iran and then divided into four equal groups: chronic schizophrenia patients, first-episode patients, chronic bipolar patients, and first-episode bipolar patients. Thirty-three healthy individuals were selected as the control group. Subjects were evaluated by Stroop color-word test. The gathered Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA. Results: Attention deficit among chronic schizophrenics and patients suffering from bipolar disease was higher than the control group (p <1. Chronic schizophrenic patients compared with schizophrenia bipolar disease and first round schizophrenia showed more attention deficit. There was no significant difference among the first bipolar disease and schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, as well as the first round schizophrenia (p<0.05. Conclusion: Attention deficit is more severe in schizophrenic patients than bipolar disorder, and chronicity is more effective in schizophrenic patients. Key words: Attention, Schizophrenia, Chronicity

Social cognition in schizophrenia and healthy aging: differences and similarities.

Science.gov (United States)

Silver, Henry; Bilker, Warren B

2014-12-01

Social cognition is impaired in schizophrenia but it is not clear whether this is specific for the illness and whether emotion perception is selectively affected. To study this we examined the perception of emotional and non-emotional clues in facial expressions, a key social cognitive skill, in schizophrenia patients and old healthy individuals using young healthy individuals as reference. Tests of object recognition, visual orientation, psychomotor speed, and working memory were included to allow multivariate analysis taking into account other cognitive functions Schizophrenia patients showed impairments in recognition of identity and emotional facial clues compared to young and old healthy groups. Severity was similar to that for object recognition and visuospatial processing. Older and younger healthy groups did not differ from each other on these tests. Schizophrenia patients and old healthy individuals were similarly impaired in the ability to automatically learn new faces during the testing procedure (measured by the CSTFAC index) compared to young healthy individuals. Social cognition is distinctly impaired in schizophrenia compared to healthy aging. Further study is needed to identify the mechanisms of automatic social cognitive learning impairment in schizophrenia patients and healthy aging individuals and determine whether similar neural systems are affected. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Horticultural therapy for schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yan; Bo, Li; Sampson, Stephanie; Roberts, Samantha; Zhang, Guoyou; Wu, Weiping

2014-05-19

Horticultural therapy is defined as the process of utilising fruits, vegetables, flowers and plants facilitated by a trained therapist or healthcare provider, to achieve specific treatment goals or to simply improve a person's well-being. It can be used for therapy or rehabilitation programs for cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and recreational benefits, thus improving the person's body, mind and spirit. Between 5% to 15% of people with schizophrenia continue to experience symptoms in spite of medication, and may also develop undesirable adverse effects, horticultural therapy may be of value for these people. To evaluate the effects of horticultural therapy for people with schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like illnesses compared with standard care or other additional psychosocial interventions. We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group Trials Register (Janurary 2013) and supplemented this by contacting relevant study authors, and manually searching reference lists. We included one randomised controlled trial (RCT) comparing horticultural therapy plus standard care with standard care alone for people with schizophrenia. We reliably selected, quality assessed and extracted data. For continuous outcomes, we calculated a mean difference (MD) and for binary outcomes we calculated risk ratio (RR), both with 95% confidence intervals (CI). We assessed risk of bias and created a 'Summary of findings' table using the GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach. We included one single blind study (total n = 24). The overall risk of bias in the study was considered to be unclear although the randomisation was adequate. It compared a package of horticultural therapy which consisted of one hour per day of horticultural activity plus standard care with standard care alone over two weeks (10 consecutive days) with no long-term follow-up. Only two people were lost to follow-up in the study, both in the horticultural therapy group (1 RCT

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Reduces Suicidal Ideation in Schizophrenia: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Bateman, Katy; Hansen, Lars; Turkington, Douglas; Kingdon, David

2007-01-01

Patients with schizophrenia are at high risk of suicide. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has been shown to reduce symptoms in schizophrenia. This study examines whether CBT also changes the level of suicidal ideation in patients with schizophrenia compared to a control group. Ninety ambulatory patients with symptoms of schizophrenia resistant to…

Prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome in subjects with and without schizophrenia (CURES-104).

Science.gov (United States)

Subashini, R; Deepa, M; Padmavati, R; Thara, R; Mohan, V

2011-01-01

There are some reports that diabetes and metabolic syndrome (MS) are more prevalent among schizophrenia patients. However, there are very few studies in India which have estimated the prevalence of diabetes and MS in schizophrenia patients. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and MS in subjects with and without schizophrenia. This case control study comprised of "cases" i.e. subjects with schizophrenia recruited from a schizophrenia centre at Chennai and "controls" i.e. healthy age- and gender-matched subjects without psychiatric illness selected from an ongoing epidemiological study in Chennai in a 1:4 ratio of cases: Controls. Fasting plasma glucose and serum lipids were estimated for all subjects. Anthropometric measures including height, weight, and waist circumference were assessed. Diabetes and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) were defined using American Diabetes Association criteria. One-way ANOVA or student's "t" test was used to compare continuous variables and Chi-square test to compare proportion between two groups. The study group comprised of 655 subjects, 131 with schizophrenia and a control group of 524 subjects without schizophrenia. The prevalence of the diabetes, IFG, abdominal obesity and MS were significantly higher among subjects with schizophrenia compared to those without schizophrenia-diabetes (15.3% vs. 7.3%, P=0.003), IFG (31.3% vs. 8.6%, Pobesity (59.2% vs. 44.7%, Pobesity, and MS is significantly higher than in those without schizophrenia.

Medial frontal GABA is lower in older schizophrenia: a MEGA-PRESS with macromolecule suppression study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowland, L M; Krause, B W; Wijtenburg, S A; McMahon, R P; Chiappelli, J; Nugent, K L; Nisonger, S J; Korenic, S A; Kochunov, P; Hong, L E

2016-02-01

Gamma-butyric acid (GABA) dysfunction has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and its cognitive deficits. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was used to test the hypothesis that older participants with schizophrenia have lower anterior cingulate GABA levels compared with older control participants. One-hundred forty-five participants completed this study. For detection of GABA, spectra were acquired from the medial frontal/anterior cingulate cortex using a macromolecule-suppressed MEGA-PRESS sequence. Patients were evaluated for psychopathology and all participants completed neuropsychological tests of working memory, processing speed and functional capacity. GABA levels were significantly lower in the older participants with schizophrenia (n=31) compared with the older control (n=37) group (P=0.003) but not between the younger control (n=40) and schizophrenia (n=29) groups (P=0.994). Age strongly predicted GABA levels in the schizophrenia group accounting for 42% of the variance, but the effect of age was less in the control group accounting for 5.7% of the variance. GABA levels were specifically related to working memory but not processing speed performance, functional capacity, or positive or negative symptom severity. This is the largest MRS study of GABA in schizophrenia and the first to examine GABA without macromolecule contamination, a potentially significant issue in previous studies. GABA levels more rapidly declined with advancing age in the schizophrenia compared with the control group. Interventions targeted at halting the decline or increasing GABA levels may improve functional outcomes and quality of life as patients with schizophrenia age.

Schizophrenia and second language acquisition.

Science.gov (United States)

Bersudsky, Yuly; Fine, Jonathan; Gorjaltsan, Igor; Chen, Osnat; Walters, Joel

2005-05-01

Language acquisition involves brain processes that can be affected by lesions or dysfunctions in several brain systems and second language acquisition may depend on different brain substrates than first language acquisition in childhood. A total of 16 Russian immigrants to Israel, 8 diagnosed schizophrenics and 8 healthy immigrants, were compared. The primary data for this study were collected via sociolinguistic interviews. The two groups use language and learn language in very much the same way. Only exophoric reference and blocking revealed meaningful differences between the schizophrenics and healthy counterparts. This does not mean of course that schizophrenia does not induce language abnormalities. Our study focuses on those aspects of language that are typically difficult to acquire in second language acquisition. Despite the cognitive compromises in schizophrenia and the manifest atypicalities in language of speakers with schizophrenia, the process of acquiring a second language seems relatively unaffected by schizophrenia.

Magnetic resonance imaging study of corpus callosum abnormalities in patients with different subtypes of schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ebru Unlu

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Background. Reductions in the size of the corpus callosum (CC have been described for schizophrenia patients, but little is known about the possible regional differences in schizophrenia subtypes (paranoid, disorganised, undifferentiated, residual.  Methods. We recruited 58 chronically schizophrenic patients with different subtypes, and 31 age-and-gender matched healthy controls. The callosum was extracted from a midsagittal slice from T1 weighted magnetic resonance images, and areas of the total CC, its five subregions, CC length and total brain volume were compared between schizophrenia subtypes and controls. Five subregions were approximately matched to fibre pathways from cortical regions.  Results. Schizophrenia patients had reduced CC total area and length when compared with controls. Disorganised and undifferentiated schizophrenics had a smaller prefrontal area, while there was no significant difference for the paranoid and residual groups. The premotor/supplementary motor area was smaller in all schizophrenia subtypes. The motor area was smaller only in the disorganised group. A smaller sensory area was found in all subtypes except the residual group. Parietal, temporal and occipital areas were smaller in the paranoid and undifferentiated groups. Total brain volume was smaller in all schizophrenia subtypes compared with controls, but did not reach statistical significance.  Conclusion. These findings suggest that the heterogeneity of symptoms may lead to the different CC morphological characteristics in schizophrenia subtypes.

Pharmaceutical Innovation in the Treatment of Schizophrenia and Mental Disorders Compared with Other Diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

MacEwan, Joanna P; Seabury, Seth; Aigbogun, Myrlene Sanon; Kamat, Siddhesh; van Eijndhoven, Emma; Francois, Clement; Henderson, Crystal; Citrome, Leslie

2016-01-01

The objectives of this study were to assess the level of private and public investment in research and development of treatments for schizophrenia and other mental disorders compared to other diseases in order to present data on the economic burden and pharmaceutical innovation by disease area, and to compare the level of investment relative to burden across different diseases. The levels of investment and pharmaceutical innovation relative to burden across different diseases were assessed. Disease burden and prevalence for mental disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder); cancer; rheumatoid arthritis; chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder; diabetes; cardiovascular disease; and neurological disorders (dementia and epilepsy) were estimated from literature sources. Pharmaceutical treatment innovation was measured by the total number of drug launches and the number of drugs launched categorized by innovativeness. Research and development expenditures were estimated using published information on annual public and domestic private research and development expenditures by disease area. Lastly, investment relative to disease burden was measured among the set of disease classes for which all three measures were available: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neurology (dementia and epilepsy combined). The level of investment and pharmaceutical innovation in mental disorders was comparatively low, especially relative to the burden of disease. For mental disorders, investment was $3.1 per $1,000 burden invested in research and development for schizophrenia, $1.8 for major depressive disorder, and $0.4 for bipolar disorder relative to cancer ($75.5), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ($9.4), diabetes ($7.6), cardiovascular disease ($6.3), or rheumatoid arthritis ($5.3). Pharmaceutical innovation was also low

Exploring online communication about cigarette smoking among Twitter users who self-identify as having schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hswen, Yulin; Naslund, John A; Chandrashekar, Pooja; Siegel, Robert; Brownstein, John S; Hawkins, Jared B

2017-11-01

Novel approaches are needed to address elevated tobacco use among people with schizophrenia. This exploratory study examined the frequency, timing, and type of communication about tobacco-related content on Twitter among users who self-identify as having schizophrenia compared with users from the general population. Over a 200-day period from January to July 2016, Twitter users who self-identify as having a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (n = 203) and a randomly selected group of general population control users (n = 173) posted 1,544,122 tweets. Communication frequency did not differ between groups. Tweets containing tobacco-related keywords were extracted. Twitter users with schizophrenia posted significantly more tweets containing any tobacco-related terms (mean = 3.74; SD = 16.3) compared with control users (mean = 0.82; SD = 1.8). A significantly greater proportion of Twitter users with schizophrenia (45%; n = 92) posted tweets containing any tobacco terms compared with control users (30%; n = 52). Schizophrenia users showed significantly greater odds of tweeting about tobacco compared with control users (OR = 1.99; 95% CI 1.29-3.07). These findings suggest that online communication about tobacco may parallel real world trends of elevated tobacco use observed among people with schizophrenia. By showing that Twitter users who self-identify as having schizophrenia discuss tobacco-related content online, popular social media could inform smoking cessation efforts targeting this at-risk group. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A comparative study of care burden and social support among caregivers of persons with schizophrenia and epilepsy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nilufer Karim

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Background: The caregivers of persons with epilepsy and schizophrenia undergo severe emotional, physical, financial burden due to the nature, chronicity, disability, and stigma attached to the illness. Aim: To assess the burden and social support among caregivers of persons with schizophrenia and epilepsy. Method: The study was conducted at the Out Patient Department of LokopriyaGopinathBordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health, Tezpur. It was a comparative study. Purposive sampling technique was used for selection of the sample. The sample for the current study comprised of caregivers of 30 persons with schizophrenia and 30 persons suffering from epilepsy. A semi-structured socio-demographic data sheet, the Burden Assessment Schedule (BAS, the Social Support Questionnaire, and the General Health Questionnaire were administered to the caregivers. Results: There was no significant difference reported by the caregivers in the two groups with the entire domains of BAS and perceived social support. Physical and mental health, and caregivers’ strategy domains of BAS had significant negative correlation at 0.05 levels with perceived social support. External support, support of patient, taking responsibility, and other relation domains of BAS had significant negative correlation at the 0.01 level with perceived social support. Conclusion: While the two groups had no significant difference with the entire domains of BAS and perceived social support; physical and mental health, and caregivers’ strategy had significant negative correlation with perceived social support.

[Association of kynurenine-3-monooxygenase gene with schizophrenia].

Science.gov (United States)

Golimbet, V E; Lezheiko, T V; Alfimova, M V; Abramova, L I; Kondrat'ev, N V

2014-06-01

Neurotoxic products produced during tryptophan metabolism via the kynurenine pathway could be involved in schizophrenia pathogenesis. It has been shown that kynurenine-3-monooxygenase (KMO) is indirectly involved in these products' formation. KMO polymorphic loci rs2275163 (C/T) and rs1053230 (A/G) were examined in 187 schizophrenia patients and 229 healthy subjects. A genetic combination of allele T and genotype GG was observed more often in a patient group compared with healthy controls (p = 0.003, OR 2.0 (95% CI 1.2-2.9). In the latter group, this combination was associated with schizophrenia endophenotype (p = 0.04), which manifested in a higher expression of schizotypal personality traits assessed using the MMPI test.

[Ultrastructural changes of myelinated fibers in the brain in continuous and attack-like paranoid schizophrenia].

Science.gov (United States)

Uranova, N A; Kolomeets, N S; Vikhreva, O V; Zimina, I S; Rakhmanova, V I; Orlovskaya, D D

Previously the authors have reported the ultrastructural pathology of myelinated fibers (MF) in the brain in schizophrenia. The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of disease course on ultrastructural changes of MF. Postmortem electron microscopic morphometric study of MF was performed in the prefrontal cortex, caudate nucleus and hippocampus in 19 cases of paranoid schizophrenia. Fourteen cases of continuous schizophrenia, 5 cases of attack-like schizophrenia and 25 normal matched control cases were studied. The proportion (percentage) of pathological MF was estimated in the prefrontal cortex, layer 5, CA3 area of hippocampus, pyramidal layer, and in the head of the caudate nucleus. The percentage of MF having axonal atrophy and swelling of periaxonal oligodendrocyte process was significantly higher in both continuous and attack-like schizophrenia in all brain structures studied as compared to the control group. In the hippocampus and caudate nucleus, this parameter was increased significantly in attack-like schizophrenia as compared to continuous schizophrenia. In the prefrontal cortex. The percentage of the pathological MF having signs of deformation and destruction of myelin sheaths increased significantly only in continuous schizophrenia as compared to the control group. MF pathology is similar in attack-like and continuous paranoid schizophrenia but differ by the degree of severity of pathological MF. Abnormalities in MF contribute to the disconnectivity between the prefrontal cortex, caudate nucleus and hippocampus.

Aripiprazole versus other atypical antipsychotics for schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

Komossa, Katja; Rummel-Kluge, Christine; Schmid, Franziska; Hunger, Heike; Schwarz, Sandra; El-Sayeh, Hany George G; Kissling, Werner; Leucht, Stefan

2014-01-01

Background In many countries of the industrialised world second generation (atypical) antipsychotics have become first line drug treatments for people with schizophrenia. The question as to whether, and if so how much, the effects of the various second generation antipsychotics differ is a matter of debate. In this review we examine how the efficacy and tolerability of aripiprazole differs from that of other second generation antipsychotics. Objectives To evaluate the effects of aripiprazole compared with other atypical antipsychotics for people with schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like psychoses. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group Trials Register (March 2007) which is based on regular searches of BIOSIS, CENTRAL, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE and PsycINFO. Selection criteria We included all randomised trials comparing oral aripiprazole with oral forms of amisulpride, clozapine, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, sertindole, ziprasidone or zotepine in people with schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like psychoses. Data collection and analysis We extracted data independently. For dichotomous data we calculated relative risks (RR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) on an intention-to-treat basis based on a random-effects model. We calculated numbers needed to treat/harm (NNT/NNH) where appropriate. For continuous data, we calculated weighted mean differences (MD) again based on a random-effects model. Main results The review currently includes four trials with 1404 participants on two out of eight possible comparisons - aripiprazole versus olanzapine and aripiprazole versus risperidone. The overall number of participants leaving the studies early was considerable (38.5%), limiting the validity of the findings, but with no significant differences between groups. Aripiprazole was less efficacious than olanzapine in terms of the general mental state (PANSS total score: n=794, 2 RCTs, MD 4.96 CI 1.85 to 8.06), but it was associated with fewer side

Cannabis use and cognition in schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Else-Marie Løberg

2009-11-01

Full Text Available People with schizophrenia frequently report cannabis use, and cannabis may be a risk factor for schizophrenia, mediated through effects on brain function and biochemistry. Thus, it is conceivable that cannabis may also influence cognitive functioning in this patients group. We report data from our own laboratory on the use of cannabis by schizophrenia patients, and review the existing literature on the effects of cannabis on cognition in schizophrenia and related psychosis. Of the 23 studies that were found, 14 reported that the cannabis users had better cognitive performance than the schizophrenia non-users. Eight studies reported no or minimal differences in cognitive performance in the two groups, but only one study reported better cognitive performance in the schizophrenia non-user group. Our own results confirm the overall impression from the literature review of better cognitive performance in the cannabis user group. These paradoxical findings may have several explanations, which are discussed. We suggest that cannabis causes a transient cognitive breakdown enabling the development of psychosis, imitating the typical cognitive vulnerability seen in schizophrenia. This is further supported by an earlier age of onset and fewer neurological soft signs in the cannabis-related schizophrenia group, suggesting an alternative pathway to psychosis.

EEG synchronization to modulated auditory tones in schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and schizotypal personality disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Brenner, Colleen A; Sporns, Olaf; Lysaker, Paul H; O'Donnell, Brian F

2003-12-01

The authors tested whether neural synchronization deficits were present in subjects with schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder. Amplitude-modulated tones were used to evaluate auditory steady-state evoked potential entrainment in a combined group of 21 subjects with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, 11 subjects with schizotypal personality disorder, and 22 nonpsychiatric comparison subjects. The schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder group exhibited decreased power compared to the schizotypal personality disorder and nonpsychiatric comparison groups. There were no differences between groups in N100 amplitude. Subjects with schizophrenia but not subjects with schizotypal personality disorder have deficits in steady-state responses to periodic stimuli, despite an intact response to sensory-evoked potentials (N100). These deficits reflect aberrant neural synchronization or resolution and may contribute to disturbed perceptual and cognitive integration in schizophrenia.

Neural correlates of emotional recognition memory in schizophrenia: effects of valence and arousal.

Science.gov (United States)

Lakis, Nadia; Jiménez, José A; Mancini-Marïe, Adham; Stip, Emmanuel; Lavoie, Marc E; Mendrek, Adrianna

2011-12-30

Schizophrenia patients are often impaired in their memory for emotional events compared with healthy subjects. Investigations of the neural correlates of emotional memory in schizophrenia patients are scarce in the literature. The present study aimed to compare cerebral activations in schizophrenia patients and healthy controls during memory retrieval of emotional images that varied in both valence and arousal. In a study with functional magnetic resonance imaging, 37 schizophrenia patients were compared with 37 healthy participants while performing a yes/no recognition paradigm with positive, negative (differing in arousal intensity) and neutral images. Schizophrenia patients performed worse than healthy controls in all experimental conditions. They showed less cerebral activation in limbic and prefrontal regions than controls during retrieval of negatively valenced stimuli, but had a similar pattern of brain activation compared with controls during retrieval of positively valenced stimuli (particularly in the high arousal condition) in the cerebellum, temporal lobe and prefrontal cortex. Both groups demonstrated increased brain activations in the high relative to low arousing conditions. Our results suggest atypical brain function during retrieval of negative pictures, but intact functional circuitry of positive affect during episodic memory retrieval in schizophrenia patients. The arousal data revealed that schizophrenia patients closely resemble the control group at both the behavioral and neurofunctional level. 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Association Between Vitamin D Status and Schizophrenia: A First Psychotic Episode Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Salavert, José; Grados, Dolors; Ramiro, Nuria; Carrión, Maria Isabel; Fadeuilhe, Christian; Palma, Felipe; López, Laura; Erra, Alba; Ramírez, Nicolás

2017-05-01

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked with schizophrenia. We aimed to determine whether patients with a first episode of psychosis (FEP) had lower vitamin D levels compared with controls considering their final diagnosis. We conducted a cross-sectional study determining 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood levels. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D levels were considered optimum at 20 ng/mL or greater. A group of 45 adult patients with FEP and a group of 22 healthy controls matched for age were recruited. The patient group was subdivided in two final diagnosis groups (schizophrenia versus other psychoses) after a 6-month follow-up. Average vitamin D values were deficient for FEP patients, especially those 22 with a final diagnosis of schizophrenia. These results relating vitamin D and schizophrenia generate interest to further examine this association.

Family Burden and Social Support in Mental Illness: A Comparative Study in Schizophrenia and Mood Disorders

OpenAIRE

JOSY KADAVIL THOMAS

2018-01-01

The present study was an attempt to assess and compare the global functioning of individuals affected with two major mental illnesses i.e. schizophrenia and mood disorders , social support perceived by them, and family burden and social support perceived by their caregivers. The individuals affected with schizophrenia were found to be more severely ill with a longer duration of illness, and perceived less social support as compared to those with mood disorders. The caregivers’ perceived socia...

Prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome in subjects with and without schizophrenia (CURES-104

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R Subashini

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Background : There are some reports that diabetes and metabolic syndrome (MS are more prevalent among schizophrenia patients. However, there are very few studies in India which have estimated the prevalence of diabetes and MS in schizophrenia patients. Aims : The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and MS in subjects with and without schizophrenia. Settings and Design : This case control study comprised of "cases" i.e. subjects with schizophrenia recruited from a schizophrenia centre at Chennai and "controls" i.e. healthy age- and gender-matched subjects without psychiatric illness selected from an ongoing epidemiological study in Chennai in a 1:4 ratio of cases: Controls. Materials and Methods : Fasting plasma glucose and serum lipids were estimated for all subjects. Anthropometric measures including height, weight, and waist circumference were assessed. Diabetes and impaired fasting glucose (IFG were defined using American Diabetes Association criteria. Statistical analysis : One-way ANOVA or student′s "t" test was used to compare continuous variables and Chi-square test to compare proportion between two groups. Results : The study group comprised of 655 subjects, 131 with schizophrenia and a control group of 524 subjects without schizophrenia. The prevalence of the diabetes, IFG, abdominal obesity and MS were significantly higher among subjects with schizophrenia compared to those without schizophrenia-diabetes (15.3% vs. 7.3%, P=0.003, IFG (31.3% vs. 8.6%, P<0.001, abdominal obesity (59.2% vs. 44.7%, P<0.001, and MS (34.4% vs. 24%, P=0.014. Conclusion : In subjects with schizophrenia, the prevalence of diabetes, IFG, abdominal obesity, and MS is significantly higher than in those without schizophrenia.

A Computational Approach to Quantifiers as an Explanation for Some Language Impairments in Schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

Zajenkowski, Marcin; Styla, Rafal; Szymanik, Jakub

2011-01-01

We compared the processing of natural language quantifiers in a group of patients with schizophrenia and a healthy control group. In both groups, the difficulty of the quantifiers was consistent with computational predictions, and patients with schizophrenia took more time to solve the problems. However, they were significantly less accurate only…

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Group Coping-Oriented Therapy vs Supportive Therapy in Schizophrenia: Results of a 2-Year Follow-up.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaub, Annette; Mueser, Kim T; von Werder, Thomas; Engel, Rolf; Möller, Hans-Jürgen; Falkai, Peter

2016-07-01

Over the past 30 years, illness management programs and cognitive-behavioral therapy for psychosis have gained prominence in the treatment of schizophrenia. However, little is known about the long-term benefits of these types of programs when delivered during inpatient treatment following a symptom exacerbation. To evaluate this question, we conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing the long-term effects of a group-based coping-oriented program (COP) that combined the elements of illness management with cognitive behavioral-therapy for psychosis, with an equally intensive supportive therapy (SUP) program. 196 inpatients with DSM-IV schizophrenia were randomized to COP or SUP, each lasting 12 sessions provided over 6-8 weeks. Outcome measures were collected in the hospital at baseline and post-assessment, and following discharge into the community 1 and 2 years later. We compared the groups on rehospitalizations, symptoms, psychosocial functioning, and knowledge about psychosis. Intent-to-treat analyses indicated that patients in COP learned significantly more information about psychosis, and had greater reductions in overall symptoms and depression/anxiety over the treatment and follow-up period than patients in SUP. Patients in both groups improved significantly in other symptoms and psychosocial functioning. There were no differences between the groups in hospitalization rates, which were low. People with schizophrenia can benefit from short-term COPs delivered during the inpatient phase, with improvements sustaining for 2 years following discharge from the hospital. More research is needed to evaluate the long-term impact of coping-oriented and similar programs provided during inpatient treatment. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Psychosocial and psychoeducational group program for main caregiver of mentally sick in early phase of schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Estíbaliz Amaro Martín

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Deinstitutionalization processes in recent times have led to a new age in relations between family and mental health professionals. Care professionals were replaced, after the psychiatric reform, for care carried out by the family without the knowledge, information and skills to assume these functions. This is the situation of many families of patients with schizophrenia.Disabling features of schizophrenia usually cause depends on their families, who take care with the consequent impact on their lives. Psychosocial interventions assessing their work and want to build an alliance with them by giving them skills and coping mechanisms to reduce adverse family atmosphere, anticipate and solve problems and reduce the expressions of anger and guilt keeping appropiate expectations. However, these actions must be enforced by providing main caregivers with the skills that enable them to gain control, this is the main target of psychoeducational programs.Today there are many people in favour of such interventions in the early stages of schizophrenia. However, it is no clear how far development of these programs is supported by evidence of effectiveness. So it has proposed a psychosocial and psychoeducational program aimed at main caregivers of patients with schizophrenia in early stages. This program will be led by a psychiatric nurse in collaboration with other professionals in the interdisciplinary team; psychiatrist, clinical psychologist and social worker. It has developed clinical trial with a control group who will receive the gide for families, caregivers and people affected, "Cómo afrontar la esquizofrenia," and an experimental group will receive, in addition to the guide, the group intervention sessions.

Autism and Schizophrenia in high functioning adults: Behavioral differences and overlap

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Spek, Annelies A; Wouters, Saskia G.M.

2011-01-01

Several recent studies have demonstrated a genetical overlap between autism and schizophrenia. However, at a behavioral level it remains unclear which features can validly distinguish adults with autism from an adult schizophrenia group. To this end, the present study compared 21 individuals with

Morphological features in a Xhosa schizophrenia population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muller Jacqueline E

2006-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Demonstrating an association between physical malformation and schizophrenia could be considered supportive of a neurodevelopmental origin of schizophrenia and may offer insights into a critical period for the development of this illness. The aim of our study was to investigate whether differences in the presence of minor physical anomalies could be demonstrated between schizophrenia sufferers and normal controls in a Xhosa population with a view to identifying a means of subtyping schizophrenia for use in future genetic studies. Methods Sixty-three subjects with schizophrenia (21 sibling pairs, 1 sibship of four and a group of probands with an affected non-participating sibling (n = 17, 81 normal controls (37 singletons and 22 sibling pairs of Xhosa ethnicity were recruited. Each participant was then examined for minor physical anomalies using the Modified Waldrop scale. The relationship between each of the morphological features and the presence of an affected sib was examined using the Chi-squared test, followed by an intra-pair concordance analysis in the sibling pairs. Results Gap between first and second toes was significantly more common in the affected sib pair group when compared to the non-affected sib pair group (p = 0.019 and non-affected singleton control group (p = 0.013. Concordance analysis also revealed increased concordance for this item in the affected sib pair group. Conclusion These findings offer an intriguing possibility that in the Xhosa population, affected sib pair status may be linked to a neurodevelopmental insult during a specific period of the fetal developmental.

Looking at the Schizophrenia Spectrum Through the Prism of Self-disorders: An Empirical Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Raballo, Andrea; Sæbye, Ditte; Parnas, Josef

2011-01-01

), schizotypal personality disorder (n = 61), other mental illness not belonging to the schizophrenia spectrum (n = 112), and no mental illness (n = 103). The effect of diagnostic grouping on the level of SDs was explored via general linear model and logistic regression. The diagnosis of schizophrenia...... spectrum has been explicitly acknowledged, mainly as a consequence of the increasing focus on early detection and prevention of psychosis. The current study tested the hypothesis of a specific aggregation of self-disorders (SDs, various anomalies of self-awareness) in schizophrenia-spectrum conditions......, comparing different diagnostic groups; 305 subjects, previously assessed in the Copenhagen Schizophrenia Linkage Study, were grouped into 4 experimental samples, according to their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Third Edition Revised) main diagnosis: schizophrenia, (n = 29...

The association between season of birth, age at onset, and clozapine use in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, J S; Park, C M; Choi, J A; Park, E; Tchoe, H J; Choi, M; Suh, J K; Kim, Y H; Won, S H; Chung, Y C; Bae, K Y; Lee, S K; Park, S C; Lee, S H

2017-11-01

This study aimed to determine whether the rate of clozapine use, an indicator of refractoriness in schizophrenia, is associated with the season of birth and age at onset in patients with schizophrenia based on nationwide data. Patients with schizophrenia (n = 114 749) who received prescriptions for antipsychotic medication between 2008 and 2014 were retrospectively identified from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. The study population was divided into three groups based on their age at the onset of schizophrenia (early, middle, and late onset). We assessed differences in the month of birth between patients and the general population. In addition, the cumulative clozapine use was calculated. Compared to the late-onset schizophrenia group, the early- and middle-onset groups showed a higher probability of birth during the winter season. In addition, the early-onset group showed the highest cumulative clozapine use rate. In the middle-onset group, the initiation of clozapine use was significantly earlier for patients born in winter compared to those born in summer. Our results indicate that the age at onset is an important factor in predicting the prognosis of schizophrenia patients. The season of birth also affects the prognosis, but with less robustness. Specifically, it appears that early disease onset and winter birth might be associated with poor outcomes in Korean patients with schizophrenia. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Stigma, schizophrenia and the media: exploring changes in the reporting of schizophrenia in major U.S. newspapers.

Science.gov (United States)

Vahabzadeh, Arshya; Wittenauer, Justine; Carr, Erika

2011-11-01

Newspaper media are a major source of information about mental illness in the United States. Previous research has shown that some printed material has been both negative and stigmatizing, which can have a detrimental impact on individuals with mental illnesses. Such perceptions represented in the media may cause those with mental illnesses to internalize a negative and stigmatizing stereotype and hinder the public's understanding of mental illness. In recent years, advocacy groups have increased their efforts to combat stigmatization of those with mental illnesses. This study focused specifically on the use of stigmatizing language concerning schizophrenia in U.S. newspapers. Because advocacy to decrease stigmatization of mental illness has increased in recent years, this study compared media depictions of schizophrenia in 2000 and 2010 to determine if there had been a reduction in reporting of dangerousness and perpetration of crime by people with schizophrenia or in stigmatizing language. All articles published in five high-circulation newspapers from diverse urban geographical regions between January 1 and June 1 in 2000 and 2010 that contained the words "schizophrenia" or "schizophrenic" were reviewed. Articles were categorized under the categories of education, incidental reference, medical and pharmaceutical news, metaphorical use, charity, obituary, medically inappropriate, and human interest. Human interest articles were further subcategorized into advocacy, crimes committed by people with schizophrenia, crimes committed against those suffering from schizophrenia, and issues related to poor mental health care. There was a statistically significant decrease in reporting of crime committed by people with schizophrenia in 2010 compared with 2000. However, no significant difference was found in metaphorical usage of the terms schizophrenia and schizophrenic between 2000 and 2010.

Mismatch Negativity in Han Chinese Patients with Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Yanbing; Ll, Xianbin; Zhao, Lei; Wang, Chuanyue

2017-10-25

Previous meta-analysis revealed that mismatch negativity(MMN) amplitude decreased in patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls (Cohen's d, d about 1), leading to the possibility of mismatch negativity being used as a biomarker for schizophrenia. However, it is unknown whether MMN is reliably changed in Chinese patients. It is necessary to carry out a meta-analysis on MMN of Han Chinese patients with schizophrenia. To investigate whether MMN could be used as a biomarker for Han Chinese patients with schizophrenia. A literature search was conducted to identify clinical trials on MMN in Han Chinese schizophrenia patients published before May 8, 2017, by searching the Chinese language databases CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP Data and PubMed. The effects of MMN deficits were evaluated for MMN amplitude by calculating standard mean difference (SMDs) between schizophrenia patient groups and healthy control groups. A total of 11 studies were included in the analysis. The total quality of all the studies were more than 6 as evaluated by Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Meta-analysis of data from these studies had a pooled sample of 432 patients with schizophrenia and 392 healthy controls. There exists significant MMN deficit in schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls (Cohen's d =1.004). When studies were excluded due to heterogeneity, the pooled effect size of the MMN differences between the patient group and healthy controls dropped to 0.79 (Cohen's d =0.79). Subgroup analysis showed that MMN amplitude deficits of schizophrenia over three years had the pooled effect size of 0.95, and less than three years had the pooled effect size of 0.77. Publication bias conducted via Egger regression test ( t = 1.83; p = 0.101), suggested that there was no publication bias. The effect size of MMN amplitude between Chinese patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls is consistent with other meta-analyses published on this topic, suggesting that Han Chinese

Neurocognitive impairment in the deficit subtype of schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Fervaha, Gagan; Agid, Ofer; Foussias, George; Siddiqui, Ishraq; Takeuchi, Hiroyoshi; Remington, Gary

2016-08-01

Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by numerous diverse signs and symptoms. Individuals with prominent, persistent, and idiopathic negative symptoms are thought to encompass a distinct subtype of schizophrenia. Previous work, including studies involving neuropsychological evaluations, has supported this position. The present study sought to further examine whether deficit patients are cognitively distinct from non-deficit patients with schizophrenia. A comprehensive neurocognitive battery including tests of verbal memory, vigilance, processing speed, reasoning, and working memory was administered to 657 patients with schizophrenia. Of these, 144 (22 %) patients were classified as deficit patients using a proxy identification method based on severity, persistence over time, and possible secondary sources (e.g., depression) of negative symptoms. Deficit patients with schizophrenia performed worse on all tests of cognition relative to non-deficit patients. These patients were characterized by a generalized cognitive impairment on the order of about 0.4 standard deviations below that of non-deficit patients. However, when comparing deficit patients to non-deficit patients who also present with negative symptoms, albeit not enduring or primary, no group differences in cognitive performance were found. Furthermore, a discriminant function analysis classifying patients into deficit/non-deficit groups based on cognitive scores demonstrated only 62.3 % accuracy, meaning over one-third of individuals were misclassified. The deficit subtype of schizophrenia is not markedly distinct from non-deficit schizophrenia in terms of neurocognitive performance. While deficit patients tend to have poorer performance on cognitive tests, the magnitude of this effect is relatively modest, translating to over 70 % overlap in scores between groups.

A Neuroanatomical Signature for Schizophrenia Across Different Ethnic Groups

OpenAIRE

Gong, Qiyong; Dazzan, Paola; Scarpazza, Cristina; Kasai, Kyioto; Hu, Xinyu; Marques, Tiago R.; Iwashiro, Norichika; Huang, Xiaoqi; Murray, Robin M.; Koike, Shinsuke; David, Anthony S.; Yamasue, Hidenori; Lui, Su; Mechelli, Andrea

2015-01-01

Schizophrenia is a disabling clinical syndrome found across the world. While the incidence and clinical expression of this illness are strongly influenced by ethnic factors, it is unclear whether patients from different ethnicities show distinct brain deficits. In this multicentre study, we used structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging to investigate neuroanatomy in 126 patients with first episode schizophrenia who came from 4 ethnically distinct cohorts (White Caucasians, African-Caribbeans, Ja...

Treatment patterns for schizoaffective disorder and schizophrenia among Medicaid patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Olfson, Mark; Marcus, Steven C; Wan, George J

2009-02-01

This study compared background characteristics, pharmacologic treatment, and service use of adults treated for schizoaffective disorder and adults treated for schizophrenia. Medicaid claims data from two states were analyzed with a focus on adults treated for schizoaffective disorder or schizophrenia. Patient groups were compared regarding demographic characteristics, pharmacologic treatment, and health service use during 180 days before and after a claim for either schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. A larger proportion of patients were treated for schizophrenia (N=38,760; 70.1%) than for schizoaffective disorder (N=16,570; 29.9%). During the 180 days before the index diagnosis claim, significantly more patients with schizoaffective disorder than those with schizophrenia were treated for depressive disorder (19.6% versus 11.4%, pschizoaffective disorder, 87.3%; schizophrenia, 87.0%), although patients with schizoaffective disorder were significantly more likely than patients with schizophrenia to receive antidepressants (61.7% versus 44.0%, pschizoaffective disorder were also significantly more likely than patients with schizophrenia to receive psychotherapy (23.4% versus 13.0%, pSchizoaffective disorder is commonly diagnosed among Medicaid beneficiaries. These patients often receive complex pharmacologic regimens, and many also receive treatment for mood disorders. Differences in service use patterns between schizoaffective disorder and schizophrenia argue for separate consideration of their health care needs.

The more information, the more negative stigma towards schizophrenia: Brazilian general population and psychiatrists compared.

Science.gov (United States)

Loch, Alexandre Andrade; Hengartner, Michael Pascal; Guarniero, Francisco Bevilacqua; Lawson, Fabio Lorea; Wang, Yuan-Pang; Gattaz, Wagner Farid; Rössler, Wulf

2013-02-28

Findings on stigmatizing attitudes toward individuals with schizophrenia have been inconsistent in comparisons between mental health professionals and members of the general public. In this regard, it is important to obtain data from understudied sociocultural settings, and to examine how attitudes toward mental illness vary in such settings. Nationwide samples of 1015 general population individuals and 1414 psychiatrists from Brazil were recruited between 2009 and 2010. Respondents from the general population were asked to identify an unlabeled schizophrenia case vignette. Psychiatrists were instructed to consider "someone with stabilized schizophrenia". Stereotypes, perceived prejudice and social distance were assessed. For the general population, stigma determinants replicated findings from the literature. The level of the vignette's identification constituted an important correlate. For psychiatrists, determinants correlated in the opposite direction. When both samples were compared, psychiatrists showed the highest scores in stereotypes and perceived prejudice; for the general population, the better they recognized the vignette, the higher they scored in those dimensions. Psychiatrists reported the lowest social distance scores compared with members of the general population. Knowledge about schizophrenia thus constituted an important determinant of stigma; consequently, factors influencing stigma should be further investigated in the general population and in psychiatrists as well. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Going beyond: an adventure- and recreation-based group intervention promotes well-being and weight loss in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Voruganti, Lakshmi N P; Whatham, Jeff; Bard, Eleanor; Parker, Gayle; Babbey, Candice; Ryan, Janet; Lee, Suganya; MacCrimmon, Duncan J

2006-08-01

To undertake a preliminary study to assess the feasibility of clinical implementation and evaluate the effectiveness of a novel adventure- and recreation-based group intervention in the rehabilitation of individuals with schizophrenia. In a 2-year, prospective, case-control study, 23 consecutively referred, clinically stabilized schizophrenia patients received the new intervention over an 8-month period; 31 patients on the wait list, considered the control group, received standard clinical care that included some recreational activities. Symptom severity, self-esteem, self-appraised cognitive abilities, and functioning were documented for both groups with standardized rating scales administered at baseline, on completion of treatment, and at 12 months posttreatment. Treatment adherence was 97%, and there were no dropouts. Patients in the study group showed marginal improvement in perceived cognitive abilities and on domain-specific functioning measures but experienced a significant improvement in their self-esteem and global functioning (P < 0.05), as well as a weight loss of over 12 lb. Improvement was sustained over 1 year with further occupational and social gains. In the context of overcoming barriers to providing early intervention for youth and preventing metabolic problems among older adults with schizophrenia, adventure- and recreation-based interventions could play a useful complementary role.

Disrupted Olfactory Integration in Schizophrenia: Functional Connectivity Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiparizoska, Sara; Ikuta, Toshikazu

2017-09-01

Evidence for olfactory dysfunction in schizophrenia has been firmly established. However, in the typical understanding of schizophrenia, olfaction is not recognized to contribute to or interact with the illness. Despite the solid presence of olfactory dysfunction in schizophrenia, its relation to the rest of the illness remains largely unclear. Here, we aimed to examine functional connectivity of the olfactory bulb, olfactory tract, and piriform cortices and isolate the network that would account for the altered olfaction in schizophrenia. We examined the functional connectivity of these specific olfactory regions in order to isolate other brain regions associated with olfactory processing in schizophrenia. Using the resting state functional MRI data from the Center for Biomedical Research Excellence in Brain Function and Mental Illness, we compared 84 patients of schizophrenia and 90 individuals without schizophrenia. The schizophrenia group showed disconnectivity between the anterior piriform cortex and the nucleus accumbens, between the posterior piriform cortex and the middle frontal gyrus, and between the olfactory tract and the visual cortices. The current results suggest functional disconnectivity of olfactory regions in schizophrenia, which may account for olfactory dysfunction and disrupted integration with other sensory modalities in schizophrenia. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of CINP.

Influence of empathetic pain processing on cognition in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Kesong; Lijffijt, Marijn; Beauchaine, Theodore P; Fan, Zhiwei; Shi, Hui; He, Shuchang

2015-10-01

Deficits in both empathy and cognition have been reported widely in patients with schizophrenia. However, little is known about how these deficits interact among such patients. In the present study, we used pain portraying pictures preceding a color-word Stroop task to investigate the effect of empathetic pain observation on cognition among patients with schizophrenia. Twenty patients with schizophrenia and twenty healthy controls were included. The control group showed increased Stroop facilitation and decreased interference during the empathetic pain condition compared with the non-empathetic condition. Although patients with schizophrenia exhibited deficits in cognition, they demonstrated a similar empathy effect to controls on Stroop facilitation, but a somewhat larger empathy effect on Stroop interference (a more decreased effect). In particular, the groups did not differ in either automatic or controlled processing during the non-empathetic condition, suggesting general rather than specific cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Together, we interpret our findings in terms of two opposing effects of empathy on cognition in schizophrenia, with possible neuromodulatory mechanism. Whereas prior studies showed empathy to be impaired, our outcomes indicate that at least some components of empathetic pain processing are preserved in such patients.

Nonlinear complexity analysis of brain FMRI signals in schizophrenia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moses O Sokunbi

Full Text Available We investigated the differences in brain fMRI signal complexity in patients with schizophrenia while performing the Cyberball social exclusion task, using measures of Sample entropy and Hurst exponent (H. 13 patients meeting diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM IV criteria for schizophrenia and 16 healthy controls underwent fMRI scanning at 1.5 T. The fMRI data of both groups of participants were pre-processed, the entropy characterized and the Hurst exponent extracted. Whole brain entropy and H maps of the groups were generated and analysed. The results after adjusting for age and sex differences together show that patients with schizophrenia exhibited higher complexity than healthy controls, at mean whole brain and regional levels. Also, both Sample entropy and Hurst exponent agree that patients with schizophrenia have more complex fMRI signals than healthy controls. These results suggest that schizophrenia is associated with more complex signal patterns when compared to healthy controls, supporting the increase in complexity hypothesis, where system complexity increases with age or disease, and also consistent with the notion that schizophrenia is characterised by a dysregulation of the nonlinear dynamics of underlying neuronal systems.

Visual attention to emotional face in schizophrenia: an eye tracking study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mania Asgharpour

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Deficits in the processing of facial emotions have been reported extensively in patients with schizophrenia. To explore whether restricted attention is the cause of impaired emotion processing in these patients, we examined visual attention through tracking eye movements in response to emotional and neutral face stimuli in a group of patients with schizophrenia and healthy individuals. We also examined the correlation between visual attention allocation and symptoms severity in our patient group.Thirty adult patients with schizophrenia and 30 matched healthy controls participated in this study. Visual attention data were recorded while participants passively viewed emotional-neutral face pairs for 500 ms. The relationship between the visual attention and symptoms severity were assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS in the schizophrenia group. Repeated Measures ANOVAs were used to compare the groups.Comparing the number of fixations made during face-pairs presentation, we found that patients with schizophrenia made fewer fixations on faces, regardless of the expression of the face. Analysis of the number of fixations on negative-neutral pairs also revealed that the patients made fewer fixations on both neutral and negative faces. Analysis of number of fixations on positive-neutral pairs only showed more fixations on positive relative to neutral expressions in both groups. We found no correlations between visual attention pattern to faces and symptom severity in schizophrenic patients.The results of this study suggest that the facial recognition deficit in schizophrenia is related to decreased attention to face stimuli. Finding of no difference in visual attention for positive-neutral face pairs between the groups is in line with studies that have shown increased ability to positive emotional perception in these patients.

Potential risk for healthy siblings to develop schizophrenia: evidence from pattern classification with whole-brain connectivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Meijie; Zeng, Ling-Li; Shen, Hui; Liu, Zhening; Hu, Dewen

2012-03-28

Recent resting-state functional connectivity MRI studies using group-level statistical analysis have demonstrated the inheritable characters of schizophrenia. The objective of the present study was to use pattern classification as a means to investigate schizophrenia inheritance based on the whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity at the individual subject level. One-against-one pattern classifications were made amongst three groups (i.e. patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, healthy siblings, and healthy controls after preprocessing), resulting in an 80.4% separation between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls, a 77.6% separation between schizophrenia patients and their healthy siblings, and a 78.7% separation between healthy siblings and healthy controls, respectively. These results suggest that the healthy siblings of schizophrenia patients have an altered resting-state functional connectivity pattern compared with healthy controls. Thus, healthy siblings may have a potential higher risk for developing schizophrenia compared with the general population. Moreover, this pattern differed from that of schizophrenia patients and may contribute to the normal behavior exhibition of healthy siblings in daily life.

Hemispheric dominance during the mental rotation task in patients with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jiu; Yang, Laiqi; Zhao, Jin; Li, Lanlan; Liu, Guangxiong; Ma, Wentao; Zhang, Yan; Wu, Xingqu; Deng, Zihe; Tuo, Ran

2012-04-01

Mental rotation is a spatial representation conversion capability using an imagined object and either object or self-rotation. This capability is impaired in schizophrenia. To provide a more detailed assessment of impaired cognitive functioning in schizophrenia by comparing the electrophysiological profiles of patients with schizophrenia and controls while completing a mental rotation task using both normally-oriented images and mirror images. This electroencephalographic study compared error rates, reaction times and the topographic map of event-related potentials in 32 participants with schizophrenia and 29 healthy controls during mental rotation tasks involving both normal images and mirror images. Among controls the mean error rate and the mean reaction time for normal images and mirror images were not significantly different but in the patient group the mean (sd) error rate was higher for mirror images than for normal images (42% [6%] vs. 32% [9%], t=2.64, p=0.031) and the mean reaction time was longer for mirror images than for normal images (587 [11] ms vs. 571 [18] ms, t=2.83, p=0.028). The amplitude of the P500 component at Pz (parietal area), Cz (central area), P3 (left parietal area) and P4 (right parietal area) were significantly lower in the patient group than in the control group for both normal images and mirror images. In both groups the P500 for both the normal and mirror images was significantly higher in the right parietal area (P4) compared with left parietal area (P3). The mental rotation abilities of patients with schizophrenia for both normally-oriented images and mirror images are impaired. Patients with schizophrenia show a diminished left cerebral contribution to the mental rotation task, a more rapid response time, and a differential response to normal images versus mirror images not seen in healthy controls. Specific topographic characteristics of the EEG during mental rotation tasks are potential biomarkers for schizophrenia.

The association of peptic ulcer and schizophrenia: a population-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Chun-Hui; Chang, Chen-Shu; Chang, Shih-Ni; Muo, Chih-Hsin; Lane, Hsien-Yuan; Sung, Fung-Chang; Kao, Chia-Hung

2014-12-01

The association of schizophrenia with peptic ulcer is not conclusive. In the last 30years, there has been little evaluation of peptic ulcer among schizophrenia patients. To explore the relation of peptic ulcer and schizophrenia during this new phase, we used the data from Taiwan insurance claims, identified 1496 schizophrenia patients (ICD-9-CM: 295) and selected 5984 non-schizophrenia controls that were frequency-matched by sex, age, and index year with schizophrenia patients during the years 1998-2001. All subjects were free of peptic ulcer at baseline. We measured incidences of peptic ulcer (ICD-9-CM: 531-534) until the end of 2009. The incidence of peptic ulcer was 1.27 times higher in schizophrenia patients than in the control group (12.1vs. 9.52 per 1000 person-years). Patients are at higher risk taking anti-depression, anxiolytic and hypnotics or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. After controlling the confounding factors, schizophrenia patients had no significant increase incidence of peptic ulcer. Schizophrenia patients have a slightly higher risk of peptic ulcer compared to the general population. This might be due to a higher rate of taking anti-depression, anxiolytic and hypnotics or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and alcoholism among this group. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Group Psychoeducational Programme on Attitude toward Mental Illness in Families of Patients with Schizophrenia, 2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farnaz Rahmani

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Family members often play a vital role as caregivers in the lives of individuals with schizophrenia. Results of the studies showed that family invironment is the most important determinint of patients outcomes like as quality of life, relapse, adherence. This study aimed to determine the effect of group psychoeducational programme on attitude towards mental illness in families of patients with schizophrenia. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 74 families who have schizophrenic patients hospitalized in psychiatric wards during sampling were selected by convenience sampling method. Then the sample was randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The families of experimental group received 8 continuous 90-minute 3 times a week psychoeducational sessions. Family attitude towards mental illness was measured using the questionnaire of Opinion about Mental Illnesses (OMI before and after intervention. Data analysis was conducted using 2 test, independent t-test, and paired t-test on SPSS software version 13. Results: The results showed that majority of the families had negative attitude towards mental illness (88.90%. In addition, the results showed that there was significant difference between different dimensions of attitude towards mental illness before and after psychoeducation in the experimental group. The mean score of families' post-test in the experimental group increased compared to control group 108.86 (14.9, vs. 88.86 (7.5. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that psychoeducation improves family attitude towards mental illness. Training methods like group psych education for the families of mental patients can be effective on their attitudes towards mental illness.

Group psychotherapy for parents of patients with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Gruber, Ema N; Kajević, Milka; Agius, Mark; Martić-Biocina, Sanja

2006-11-01

During a four-month period, the authors provided group psychotherapy combining psychodynamic, supportive and psycho-educational approaches. The aim was to investigate whether this approach would enable parents of patients with schizophrenia to re-establish their psychic balance and the balance of the whole family system by reducing high expressed emotion. The following tools were administered: a socio-cultural questionnaire, MMPI and PIE psychological tests and two questionnaires for group evaluation. The socio-cultural questionnaire showed that the group of parents is heterogeneous. MMPI profiles showed truthful answers and well organized thinking; there were no psychopathological symptoms. The PIE test showed increased dimensions of sociability and trust. The dimensions of fear, sorrow and anger were decreased. Combinations of primary emotions (marked sociability and high self-protection) show that the parents are cautious, responsible and tend to feel guilt. The parents evaluated the group work as interesting and helpful and the group as a place where the parents can overcome the stigma of the disease that affects them, get information, find help and friends and find a way out of their social isolation. This combined approach changes the emotional profile of parents, reduces high expressed emotions (fear, sorrow and anger) in parents and helps re-establish their psychic balance and the balance of the whole family system.

[Emotional Memory and Electrocortical Activity in Schizophrenia].

Science.gov (United States)

Lavoie, Marc E; Champagne, Julie; Glaser, Emma; Mendrek, Adrianna

Context Abnormal emotion processing is frequent in schizophrenia and affects social and functional outcome. Past event-related potential (ERP) research investigating processing of affective stimuli in schizophrenia was done mainly with facial expressions and revealed impaired facial emotion recognition in patients relative to control subjects. Experimentations involving fMRI with this group of patients, showed alteration of limbic and frontal regions in response to emotional unpleasant images, compared to neutral stimuli during a memory task. Other studies have also noted an increase in brain activity when the activation of the stimuli was high compared to low arousal stimuli. This may indicate a different sensitivity threshold to emotional arousal and emotional valence involving frontal pathways in these patients. But very few studies attempted to separate the contributions of emotional valence and arousal within an episodic memory protocol with ERP, in that population.Goal The aim of the current research is to investigate brain electro-cortical activity in schizophrenia in response to emotional images during an episodic memory task.Method ERP components were analyzed in 16 schizophrenic and 17 control participants matched for age, sex and intelligence. ERPs were obtained from 56 EEG electrodes. The tasks consisted in a classical episodic memory task that presented 100 repeated old and 100 new photographic images divided into four categories (unpleasant-high arousal, unpleasant-low arousal, pleasant-high arousal and pleasant-low arousal) selected from the International Affective Picture System. The N200, P300 and late positive component (LPC) mean amplitude, were analyzed using repeated-measure analyses of variance (MANOVA).Results Patients with schizophrenia and control subjects gave comparable subjective evaluations of arousal and valence. However, the frontal N200 and the P300 both showed an interaction of the group x memory x valence x hemisphere (F [1

Cognitive decision modelling of emotion-based learning impairment in schizophrenia: the role of awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Cella, Matteo; Dymond, Simon; Cooper, Andrew; Turnbull, Oliver H

2012-03-30

Individuals with schizophrenia often lack insight or awareness. Resulting impairment has been observed in various cognitive domains and, recently, linked to problems in emotion-based learning. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) has been used to assess emotion-based decision-making in patients with schizophrenia, but results have been inconclusive. The current study further investigates emotion-based decision-making in schizophrenia by elucidating the unique contribution of awareness. Twenty-five patients with schizophrenia and 24 healthy controls were assessed with a modified version of the IGT recording awareness at regular intervals. Symptom assessment, medication and medical history were recorded for the clinical group. Patients with schizophrenia underperformed on the IGT compared to controls. Subjective awareness levels were significantly lower in the schizophrenia group and were associated with hallucination severity. Cognitive decision modelling further indicated that patients with schizophrenia had impaired attention to losses, compared to controls. This parameter was positively correlated with awareness. We also found that positive symptoms altered awareness levels and suggest that this disruption may contribute to sub-optimal decision-making. Overall, a lack of awareness may be an important aspect in understanding impaired social cognitive functioning and emotion-based learning observed in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Autism and Schizophrenia in High Functioning Adults: Behavioral Differences and Overlap

Science.gov (United States)

Spek, Annelies A.; Wouters, Saskia G. M.

2010-01-01

Several recent studies have demonstrated a genetical overlap between autism and schizophrenia. However, at a behavioral level it remains unclear which features can validly distinguish adults with autism from an adult schizophrenia group. To this end, the present study compared 21 individuals with the autistic disorder and 21 individuals with…

Korean sibling caregivers of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mijung Park

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Siblings of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia are an important source of family caregiving. Unfortunately, limited information is available about sibling caregivers because existing studies have focused on other family relationships such as parents, spouses, and children. To fill the knowledge gap, the purpose of this study is to describe Korean sibling caregivers’ experience with individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. Guided by Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenological methodology, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with eight individuals who have a sibling (1 diagnosed with schizophrenia and (2 hospitalized in an inpatient psychiatric unit. We discerned six key themes: sorrow, burnout, shame, different perspectives in life, acceptance, and responsibility. We categorized these themes into three groups: suffering, hope, and responsibility and obligation. Sibling caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia experience a mixture of several emotions. Participants loved their brother or sister with schizophrenia, but at the same time they felt shame and fear. While they were burdened by the responsibilities of caregiving, they remained loyal to their sibling with schizophrenia, continuing to help their siblings reach their full potential. Although participants were confused about the symptoms of schizophrenia, they were committed to learning more about the illness. Because we conducted the current study in Korea, the findings of this study may be unique to Korea culture. Further studies are needed to compare and contrast nuanced differences in sibling caregivers’ experience among different cultural groups.

Emotional intelligence and non-social cognition in schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Frajo-Apor, B; Kemmler, G; Pardeller, S; Plass, T; Mühlbacher, M; Welte, A-S; Fleischhacker, W W; Hofer, A

2017-01-01

The different patterns of Emotional Intelligence (EI) deficits in schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder are are not yet well understood. This study compares EI levels among these groups and highlights the potential impact of non-social cognition on EI. Fifty-eight schizophrenia and 60 bipolar outpatients were investigated using the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). Analyses of covariance were performed with adjustment for the BACS composite score. Compared to bipolar subjects, schizophrenia patients showed significantly lower levels in both EI and non-social cognition. After adjustment for the BACS composite score, the difference in EI was lost. The mediation analysis revealed that differences between schizophrenia and bipolar patients in strategic EI are almost fully attributable to the mediating effect of non-social cognition. Our findings suggest that in both schizophrenia and bipolar patients EI is strongly influenced by non-social cognitive functioning. This has to be taken into account when interpreting MSCEIT data in comparative studies in serious mental illness and emphasizes the importance of cognitive remediation.

Cognitive functions in methamphetamine induced psychosis compared to schizophrenia and normal subjects.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zahra Ezzatpanah

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to study the cognitive functions in patients with methamphetamine-induced psychosis (MIP in comparison with schizophrenia patients and normal subjects.This was a cross-sectional study, 30 patients with MIP, 30 patients with schizophrenia and 30 normal individuals were selected via convenient sampling and were matched on age, sex and education. Wisconsin Cards Sorting, Stroop, Visual Search and Attention and Wechsler Memory Tests were used to assess the subjects.The study showed that patients with MIP and schizophrenia have more deficits in executive functions, selective attention, sustained attention and memory than normal subjects. There were no significant differences in cognitive functions between patients with MIP and schizophrenia except for visual search and attention that showed more impairment in patients with schizophrenia.Although, cognitive dysfunctions of patients with MIP are mostly similar to patients with schizophrenia, some differences seem to exist, especially in those functions that are not primarily dependent on frontal lobe.

Theory of mind in schizophrenia: exploring neural mechanisms of belief attribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Junghee; Quintana, Javier; Nori, Poorang; Green, Michael F

2011-01-01

Although previous behavioral studies have shown that schizophrenia patients have impaired theory of mind (ToM), the neural mechanisms associated with this impairment are poorly understood. This study aimed to identify the neural mechanisms of ToM in schizophrenia, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with a belief attribution task. In the scanner, 12 schizophrenia patients and 13 healthy control subjects performed the belief attribution task with three conditions: a false belief condition, a false photograph condition, and a simple reading condition. For the false belief versus simple reading conditions, schizophrenia patients showed reduced neural activation in areas including the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) compared with controls. Further, during the false belief versus false photograph conditions, we observed increased activations in the TPJ and the MPFC in healthy controls, but not in schizophrenia patients. For the false photograph versus simple reading condition, both groups showed comparable neural activations. Schizophrenia patients showed reduced task-related activation in the TPJ and the MPFC during the false belief condition compared with controls, but not for the false photograph condition. This pattern suggests that reduced activation in these regions is associated with, and specific to, impaired ToM in schizophrenia.

The assessment of the nutritional value of meals consumed by patients with recognized schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

Stefańska, Ewa; Wendołowicz, Agnieszka; Lech, Magdalena; Wilczyńska, Karolina; Konarzewska, Beata; Zapolska, Joanna; Ostrowska, Lucyna

2018-01-01

As studies show, changes in diet - so important in the therapy of psychiatric disorders and related to changes in appetite and nutritional preferences, including avoiding of the consumption of specific groups of products and dishes - are much more frequent among patients affected by schizophrenia. The aim of the study was to assess the chosen nutritional habits, including the number and type of meals usually consumed during a day, snacking between meals and the energy value and content of the chosen nutrients in the diets of persons with recognized schizophrenia. The study was carried out in a group of 85 patients with recognized schizophrenia, and 70 healthy volunteers ranging in age from 18-65 years without mental or nutritional disorders. For the purpose of the study, we used a questionnaire containing questions on nutritional habits. A 24-hour diet recall was used in the quantitative nutritional assessment with the use of the computer program Dieta 5.0. Female patients with recognized schizophrenia were having 3 meals a day significantly more frequently as compared to healthy women. They were also having an afternoon snack much more frequently as compared to the control group. The food rations of female patients were characterized by a significantly higher energy value and the content of most of the assessed nutrients as compared to the food rations of healthy women. The food rations of men with recognized schizophrenia were characterized by a much lower energy intake and the content of the majority of assessed nutrients as compared to the food rations of healthy men. In all compared groups, we observed an energetic structure of food rations with the breakdown by specific meals that was inconsistent with the applicable recommendations. Despite of differences between the nutritional value of the meals of patients with recognized schizophrenia and those of healthy subjects, it seems advisable to involve patients with recognized schizophrenia in the education of

Integrated Analysis and Visualization of Group Differences in Structural and Functional Brain Connectivity: Applications in Typical Ageing and Schizophrenia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolyn D Langen

Full Text Available Structural and functional brain connectivity are increasingly used to identify and analyze group differences in studies of brain disease. This study presents methods to analyze uni- and bi-modal brain connectivity and evaluate their ability to identify differences. Novel visualizations of significantly different connections comparing multiple metrics are presented. On the global level, "bi-modal comparison plots" show the distribution of uni- and bi-modal group differences and the relationship between structure and function. Differences between brain lobes are visualized using "worm plots". Group differences in connections are examined with an existing visualization, the "connectogram". These visualizations were evaluated in two proof-of-concept studies: (1 middle-aged versus elderly subjects; and (2 patients with schizophrenia versus controls. Each included two measures derived from diffusion weighted images and two from functional magnetic resonance images. The structural measures were minimum cost path between two anatomical regions according to the "Statistical Analysis of Minimum cost path based Structural Connectivity" method and the average fractional anisotropy along the fiber. The functional measures were Pearson's correlation and partial correlation of mean regional time series. The relationship between structure and function was similar in both studies. Uni-modal group differences varied greatly between connectivity types. Group differences were identified in both studies globally, within brain lobes and between regions. In the aging study, minimum cost path was highly effective in identifying group differences on all levels; fractional anisotropy and mean correlation showed smaller differences on the brain lobe and regional levels. In the schizophrenia study, minimum cost path and fractional anisotropy showed differences on the global level and within brain lobes; mean correlation showed small differences on the lobe level. Only

Biosocial characteristics of patients with paranoid schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gergana K. Panayotova

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Schizophrenia is known as a complex disorder that combines both genetic and environmental factors. Different genes have been tested as candidates for association with schizophrenia and different environmental factors have been examined in many studies on epidemiology of schizophrenia. Specific environmental factors, such as nonspecific stress, mental and physical abuse, maternal diet during pregnancy, drug use, living in an urban setting, migration, seasonal effects on birth and exposure to infections, have been discussed as possible risk for schizophrenia. The present preliminary study is focused on the relations between biological and social characteristics of patients with paranoid schizophrenia with different cognitive levels, emotional and creative styles. Descriptive statistics, the Student's t-test and SPSS software, were used to analyse the relations mentioned. Differences between sexes and these concerning age of individuals (risk level of inheritance, ABO blood group distribution, triggering factors, aggressive behavior, single or multiple suicide attempts, levels of education and creative talents were indicated and discussed. The study identifies important trends and discuses essential biosocial relations in context of the knowledge for schizophrenia in Bulgaria. Future comparative investigations, including genetic markers and psychogenetic approaches, should be used in complex, in order to characterize the reasons for developing paranoid schizophrenia and the possible relations between biological, psychological and social factors better.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Compared with Non-specialized Therapy for Alleviating the Effect of Auditory Hallucinations in People with Reoccurring Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Laura; Xyrichis, Andreas

2017-02-01

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is recommended as a psychological intervention for those diagnosed with schizophrenia. The prevalence of auditory hallucinations is high among this group, many of whom are cared for by community mental health teams that may not have easy access to qualified CBT practitioners. This systematic review examined the evidence for the superiority of CBT compared to non-specialized therapy in alleviating auditory hallucinations in community patients with schizophrenia. Two RCTs met the inclusion criteria totaling 105 participants. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS)-Positive Scale was the outcome measure examined. A meta-analysis revealed a pooled mean difference of -0.86 [95 % CI -2.38, 0.65] in favor of CBT, although this did not reach statistical significance. This systematic review concluded there is no clinically significant difference in the reduction of positive symptoms of schizophrenia when treated by CBT compared to a non-specialized therapy for adults experiencing auditory hallucinations.

Superior intellectual ability in schizophrenia: neuropsychological characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

MacCabe, James H; Brébion, Gildas; Reichenberg, Abraham; Ganguly, Taposhri; McKenna, Peter J; Murray, Robin M; David, Anthony S

2012-03-01

It has been suggested that neurocognitive impairment is a core deficit in schizophrenia. However, it appears that some patients with schizophrenia have intelligence quotients (IQs) in the superior range. In this study, we sought out schizophrenia patients with an estimated premorbid Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of at least 115 and studied their neuropsychological profile. Thirty-four patients meeting diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV), with mean estimated premorbid IQ of 120, were recruited and divided into two subgroups, according to whether or not their IQ had declined by at least 10 points from their premorbid estimate. Their performance on an extensive neuropsychological battery was compared with that of 19 IQ-matched healthy controls and a group of 16 "typical" schizophrenia patients with estimated premorbid IQ Schizophrenia patients whose estimated premorbid and current IQ both lay in the superior range were statistically indistinguishable from IQ-matched healthy controls on all neurocognitive tests. However, their profile of relative performance in subtests was similar to that of typical schizophrenia patients. Patients with superior premorbid IQ and evidence of intellectual deterioration had intermediate scores. Our results confirm the existence of patients meeting DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia who have markedly superior premorbid intellectual level and appear to be free of gross neuropsychological deficits. We discuss the implications of these findings for the primacy of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia.

Impairment of probabilistic reward-based learning in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Weiler, Julia A; Bellebaum, Christian; Brüne, Martin; Juckel, Georg; Daum, Irene

2009-09-01

Recent models assume that some symptoms of schizophrenia originate from defective reward processing mechanisms. Understanding the precise nature of reward-based learning impairments might thus make an important contribution to the understanding of schizophrenia and the development of treatment strategies. The present study investigated several features of probabilistic reward-based stimulus association learning, namely the acquisition of initial contingencies, reversal learning, generalization abilities, and the effects of reward magnitude. Compared to healthy controls, individuals with schizophrenia exhibited attenuated overall performance during acquisition, whereas learning rates across blocks were similar to the rates of controls. On the group level, persons with schizophrenia were, however, unable to learn the reversal of the initial reward contingencies. Exploratory analysis of only the subgroup of individuals with schizophrenia who showed significant learning during acquisition yielded deficits in reversal learning with low reward magnitudes only. There was further evidence of a mild generalization impairment of the persons with schizophrenia in an acquired equivalence task. In summary, although there was evidence of intact basic processing of reward magnitudes, individuals with schizophrenia were impaired at using this feedback for the adaptive guidance of behavior.

Neural Mechanisms Underlying Affective Theory of Mind in Violent Antisocial Personality Disorder and/or Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Schiffer, Boris; Pawliczek, Christina; Müller, Bernhard W; Wiltfang, Jens; Brüne, Martin; Forsting, Michael; Gizewski, Elke R; Leygraf, Norbert; Hodgins, Sheilagh

2017-10-21

Among violent offenders with schizophrenia, there are 2 sub-groups, one with and one without, conduct disorder (CD) and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), who differ as to treatment response and alterations of brain structure. The present study aimed to determine whether the 2 groups also differ in Theory of Mind and neural activations subsuming this task. Five groups of men were compared: 3 groups of violent offenders-schizophrenia plus CD/ASPD, schizophrenia with no history of antisocial behavior prior to illness onset, and CD/ASPD with no severe mental illness-and 2 groups of non-offenders, one with schizophrenia and one without (H). Participants completed diagnostic interviews, the Psychopathy Checklist Screening Version Interview, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, authorized access to clinical and criminal files, and underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while completing an adapted version of the Reading-the-Mind-in-the-Eyes Task (RMET). Relative to H, nonviolent and violent men with schizophrenia and not CD/ASPD performed more poorly on the RMET, while violent offenders with CD/ASPD, both those with and without schizophrenia, performed similarly. The 2 groups of violent offenders with CD/ASPD, both those with and without schizophrenia, relative to the other groups, displayed higher levels of activation in a network of prefrontal and temporal-parietal regions and reduced activation in the amygdala. Relative to men without CD/ASPD, both groups of violent offenders with CD/ASPD displayed a distinct pattern of neural responses during emotional/mental state attribution pointing to distinct and comparatively successful processing of social information. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Eugen Bleuler’s Dementia Praecox or the Group of Schizophrenias (1911)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moskowitz, Andrew; Heim, Gerhard

2011-01-01

, than by Sigmund Freud. We conclude that Bleuler’s ideas on schizophrenia warrant reexamination in the light of current criticism of the emphasis on psychotic symptoms in the schizophrenia diagnosis and argue for the recognition of the dissociative roots of this most important psychiatric category....

Subjective burden on spouses of schizophrenia patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Surekha Kumari

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Background : There is limited information from India on subjective burden on spouses of schizophrenia patients. The aim of the present study was to assess and compare patterns of subjective burden on spouses of schizophrenia patients. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted at the OPD level, and follow-up was done at the Ranchi Institute of Neuropsychiatry and Sciences (RINPAS during the period May 2008 to November 2008. Tools utilized were sociodemographic data sheet, Family Burden Interview Schedule developed by Pai and R. L. Kapur (1981. The sample comprised of 50 samples of spouses (25 male and 25 female spouses of schizophrenia patients. Results: The findings suggest that both the groups, viz., male and female spouses of schizophrenia patients, showed moderate level of subjective burden, i.e., 13 (52% and 15 (60% male and female spouses, respectively, which was statistically found to be insignificant. Conclusion : No significant difference was found between male and female spouses of schizophrenia patients with regard to the level of subjective burden.

Increased NMDA and AMPA receptor densities in the anterior cingulate cortex in schizophrenia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zavitsanou, K.; Huang, X.-F.

2002-01-01

Full text: The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a brain area of potential importance to our understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Since a disturbed balance between excitatory and inhibitory activity is suggested to occur in the ACC in schizophrenia, the present study has focused on the analysis of binding of [ 3 H]MK801, [ 3 H]AMPA and [ 3 H]kainate, radioligands which respectively label the NMDA, AMPA and kainate receptors of the ionotropic glutamate receptor family in the ACC of 10 schizophrenia patients and 10 matched controls, using quantitative autoradiography. AMPA receptor densities were higher in cortical layer II whereas NMDA receptor densities were higher in cortical layers II-III in the ACC of both control and schizophrenia group. In contrast, kainate receptors displayed the highest density in cortical layer V. [ 3 H]AMPA binding was significantly increased by 25% in layer II in the schizophrenia group as compared to the control group. Similarly, a significant 17% increase of [ 3 H]MK801 binding was observed in layers II-III in the schizophrenia group. No statistically significant differences were observed for [ 3 H] kainate binding between the two groups. These results suggest that ionotropic glutamate receptors are differentially altered in the ACC of schizophrenia. The increase in [ 3 H]AMPA and [ 3 H]MK801 binding points to a postsynaptic compensation for impaired glutamatergic neurotransmission in the ACC in schizophrenia. Such abnormality could lead to an imbalance between the excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission in this brain area that may contribute to the emergence of some schizophrenia symptoms. Copyright (2002) Australian Neuroscience Society

Mortality among homeless people with schizophrenia in Sydney, Australia: a 10-year follow-up.

Science.gov (United States)

Babidge, N C; Buhrich, N; Butler, T

2001-02-01

The aims were first, to describe deaths in a cohort of homeless people compared to the general population and secondly, to compare deaths among the individuals with schizophrenia to those without schizophrenia. Mortality was assessed in a cohort of 708 homeless subjects, 506 with schizophrenia who were referred 10 years previously to psychiatric outreach clinics. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated. Eighty-three people (12%) had died, 19 from suicide. The SMR was 3.76 for homeless men and 3.14 for homeless women. There was a non-significant trend for higher excess mortality among men without schizophrenia compared to men with schizophrenia. SMRs for suicide were significantly elevated among homeless men. Homeless people in inner Sydney have death rates three to four times higher than people in the general population of New South Wales. Excess mortality was greatest for younger age groups.

Quality of life and response of negative symptoms in schizophrenia to haloperidol and the atypical antipsychotic remoxipride. The Canadian Remoxipride Group.

Science.gov (United States)

Awad, A G; Lapierre, Y D; Angus, C; Rylander, A

1997-07-01

In a large, multicenter, double-blind study of the effect of haloperidol and the atypical antipsychotic remoxipride on improvement of negative symptoms in schizophrenia, quality of life was also assessed using a modified version of the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP). Compared with previous studies, this study had a longer duration (28 weeks), and the dose of the comparator, haloperidol, was much lower. At the end of the study, compared with the baseline, both treatment groups reported comparable improvement in negative symptoms as defined by the protocol (at least 20% improvement). Similarly, both groups showed comparable changes on global and multidimensional self-assessments of quality of life. All the subfactors of the modified version of the SIP were similar in both groups, except for the subfactor that relates to alertness behavior, which possibly reflects remoxipride's lack of any sedating properties compared with haloperidol. This study presents an approach for inclusion of quality of life as an outcome measure in the design of clinical trials of new antipsychotic medications.

Preliminary analysis of positive and negative syndrome scale in ketamine-associated psychosis in comparison with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Ke; Krystal, John H; Ning, Yuping; Chen, Da Chun; He, Hongbo; Wang, Daping; Ke, Xiaoyin; Zhang, Xifan; Ding, Yi; Liu, Yuping; Gueorguieva, Ralitza; Wang, Zuoheng; Limoncelli, Diana; Pietrzak, Robert H; Petrakis, Ismene L; Zhang, Xiangyang; Fan, Ni

2015-02-01

Studies of the effects of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor antagonist, ketamine, have suggested similarities to the symptoms of schizophrenia. Our primary goal was to evaluate the dimensions of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) in ketamine users (acute and chronic) compared to schizophrenia patients (early and chronic stages). We conducted exploratory factor analysis for the PANSS from four groups: 135 healthy subject administrated ketamine or saline, 187 inpatients of ketamine abuse; 154 inpatients of early course schizophrenia and 522 inpatients of chronic schizophrenia. Principal component factor analyses were conducted to identify the factor structure of the PANSS. Factor analysis yielded five factors for each group: positive, negative, cognitive, depressed, excitement or dissociation symptoms. The symptom dimensions in two schizophrenia groups were consistent with the established five-factor model (Wallwork et al., 2012). The factor structures across four groups were similar, with 19 of 30 symptoms loading on the same factor in at least 3 of 4 groups. The factors in the chronic ketamine group were more similar to the factors in the two schizophrenia groups rather than to the factors in the acute ketamine group. Symptom severities were significantly different across the groups (Kruskal-Wallis χ(2)(4) = 540.6, p Symptoms in the two ketamine groups were milder than in the two schizophrenia groups (Cohen's d = 0.7). Our results provide the evidence of similarity in symptom dimensions between ketamine psychosis and schizophrenia psychosis. The interpretations should be cautious because of potential confounding factors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

STUDY OF SUICIDE ATTEMPTS IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jagadeesan Madras Sundararajan

2016-07-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Schizophrenia is a major mental illness whose sufferers have been found to have lesser longevity than general population. The most common cause for premature death in schizophrenia is suicide. There are very few Indian studies on suicide in persons suffering from schizophrenia. OBJECTIVES The objectives were to study the frequency of suicide attempt in schizophrenia to compare and study the clinical and sociodemographic profile of suicide attempters and non-attempters in schizophrenia and to analyse and study the various risk factors of suicide attempts in persons suffering from schizophrenia. METHODS A sample of 100 consecutive patients attending review OPD of a government tertiary care hospital in Chennai were selected. Those who had a diagnosis of schizophrenia were screened for past suicide attempts. They were divided into two groups as suicide attempters and non-attempters and analysed using the SAPS (Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms, SANS (Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms, Calgary depression scale, and Beck’s suicide intent scale. RESULTS People suffering from schizophrenia are at a high risk for making suicidal attempts (27% especially when the illness is acute and severe in early stages when accompanied by depressive symptoms. Demographic profile such as age, sex, education, occupation, socio-economic status, marital status, and family type were not significantly related to suicide attempts. Family history of suicide was a significant factor in patients with suicide attempts. Majority of the attempts were of medium-to-high intent, hanging being the commonest method, and were attributed to most commonly delusions and depressive symptoms.

Epstein-Barr virus and herpes simplex infection assessment in schizophrenia and bipolar patients compared to healthy subjects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amir Asoode

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Some viruses (including herpes viruses due to  neurotropic properties and latency  are considered as a possible factor in many central nervous system disorders, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The aim of the current study was to assess the level of IgG antibodies against Herpes Simplex virus (HSV and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV in these diseases. Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, a total of 92 serum samples including those of 46  patients admitted to Iran Psychiatric Hospital and 46 samples of the healthy personnel of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, as a control group, were assessed. The level of IgG antibodies against HSV 1 & 2 and EBV were tested using ELISA kits and  the presence or absence of EBV genome (active infection was examined by Real-time PCR.  Finally, the obtained. Data were analyzed by means of IBM SPSS( V:22 software using Chi square test and T- test. Results: Prevalence of HSV 1 & 2 antibodies in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (case group. and healthy individuals (control group. were 80/4% and 82/6% ,respectively. The results showed no significant difference in HSV 1 & 2 antibody regarding P value (P= 0.79. Prevalence of EBV antibodies in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and healthy controls were 100% and 89/1%, respectively. The results showed significant differences between the two groups in terms of anti-EBV antibody titers with P value of  0.02. Besides,  in order to detect the genome of EBV virus, Real-time PCR was u sedon 87 samples with positive EBV antibodies in which no EBV genome was detected. Conclusion: The findings showed a significant association between EBV infection with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but there was no significant association between herpes simplex viruses with the mentioned diseases.

Amygdala Hyperactivity at Rest in Paranoid Individuals With Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinkham, Amy E; Liu, Peiying; Lu, Hanzhang; Kriegsman, Michael; Simpson, Claire; Tamminga, Carol

2015-08-01

The amygdala's role in threat perception suggests that increased activation of this region may be related to paranoid ideation. However, investigations of amygdala function in paranoid individuals with schizophrenia, compared with both healthy individuals and nonparanoid individuals with schizophrenia, have consistently reported reduced task-related activation. The reliance of blood-oxygen-level-dependent functional MRI on a contrast between events and baseline, and the inability to quantitatively measure this baseline, may account for these counterintuitive findings. The present study tested for differences in baseline levels of amygdala activity in paranoid and nonparanoid individuals with schizophrenia using arterial spin labeling perfusion MRI. Resting cerebral blood flow (CBF) and task-related activation of the amygdala were measured in 25 healthy individuals, 16 individuals with schizophrenia who were actively paranoid at the time of scanning, and 16 individuals with schizophrenia who were not paranoid. Analysis of relative CBF values extracted from the amygdala bilaterally revealed significantly increased activity in the left amygdala in paranoid patient volunteers compared with healthy comparison subjects and nonparanoid patient volunteers. Increased CBF was also evident in the right amygdala but did not reach the level of statistical significance. Paranoid volunteers also showed significantly decreased task-related activation of the amygdala compared with the two other groups. These findings suggest that amygdala hyperactivation may underlie paranoia in schizophrenia. Additionally, the reported differences between paranoid and nonparanoid patient volunteers emphasize the importance of considering symptom-based subgroups and baseline levels of activity in future investigations of neural activation in schizophrenia.

Prominent increased calcineurin immunoreactivity in the superior temporal gyrus in schizophrenia: A postmortem study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wada, Akira; Kunii, Yasuto; Matsumoto, Jyunya; Hino, Mizuki; Yang, Qiaohui; Niwa, Shin-Ichi; Yabe, Hirooki

2017-01-01

Many neuroimaging studies have demonstrated structural changes in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) in patients with schizophrenia. Several postmortem studies have reported on the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, but few reports have investigated alterations in molecules in the STG. In addition, several studies have suggested that calcineurin (CaN) inadequacy may be a risk factor for schizophrenia, but no reports about CaN expression in the STG in schizophrenia have been published. We compared the density of CaN-immunoreactive (CaN-IR) neurons in the STG from 11 patients with schizophrenia with that of 11 sex- and age-matched controls. We used immunohistochemical analysis with rabbit polyclonal antibodies against human CaN. In the STG, the density of CaN-IR neurons in layers II - VI in the group with schizophrenia was significantly higher than that in the control group. Our results confirmed pathological changes in the STG in patients with schizophrenia, suggesting that alterations in the CaN pathway play a role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abnormal emotion processing, but intact fairness and intentionality considerations during social decision-making in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

de la Asuncion, Javier; Docx, Lise; Sabbe, Bernard; Morrens, Manuel; de Bruijn, Ellen R A

2015-01-01

Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that is highly characterized by social cognitive impairments. Most studies investigating these impairments focus on one specific social domain such as emotion recognition. However, in daily life, processing complex social situations relies on the combination of several social cognitive and affective processes simultaneously rather than one process alone. A modified version of the economically based Ultimatum Game was used to measure the interplay between fairness, intentionality, and emotion considerations during social decision-making. In this task, participants accept or reject fair and unfair monetary offers proposed intentionally or unintentionally by either angry, happy, neutral, or sad proposers. Behavioral data was collected from a group of schizophrenia patients (N = 35) and a group of healthy individuals (N = 30). Like healthy participants, schizophrenia patients differentiated between fair and unfair offers by rejecting unfair offers more compared to fair offers. However, overall patients did reject more fair offers, indicating that their construct of fairness operates within different margins. In both groups, intentional unfair offers were rejected more compared to unintentional ones, indicating a normal integration of intentionality considerations in schizophrenia. Importantly, healthy subjects also differentiated between proposers' emotion when rejecting unfair offers (more rejections from proposers depicting angry faces compared to proposers depicting, happy, neutral, or sad faces). Schizophrenia patients' decision behavior on the other hand, was not affected by the proposers' emotions. The current study thus shows that schizophrenia patients have specific problems with processing and integrating emotional information. Importantly, the finding that patients display normal fairness and intentionality considerations emphasizes preservation of central social cognitive processes in schizophrenia.

Investigating consummatory and anticipatory pleasure across motivation deficits in schizophrenia and healthy controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Da Silva, Susana; Saperia, Sarah; Siddiqui, Ishraq; Fervaha, Gagan; Agid, Ofer; Daskalakis, Z Jeff; Ravindran, Arun; Voineskos, Aristotle N; Zakzanis, Konstantine K; Remington, Gary; Foussias, George

2017-08-01

Anhedonia has traditionally been considered a characteristic feature of schizophrenia, but the true nature of this deficit remains elusive. This study sought to investigate consummatory and anticipatory pleasure as it relates to motivation deficits. Eighty-four outpatients with schizophrenia and 81 healthy controls were administered the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS), as well as a battery of clinical and cognitive assessments. Multivariate analyses of variance were used to examine the experience of pleasure as a function of diagnosis, and across levels of motivation deficits (i.e. low vs. moderate. vs. high) in schizophrenia. Hierarchical regression analyses were also conducted to evaluate the predictive value of amotivation in relation to the TEPS. There were no significant differences between schizophrenia and healthy control groups for either consummatory or anticipatory pleasure. Within the schizophrenia patients, only those with high levels of amotivation were significantly impaired in consummatory and anticipatory pleasure compared to low and moderate groups, and compared to healthy controls. Further, our results revealed that amotivation significantly predicts both consummatory and anticipatory pleasure, with no independent contribution of group. Utilizing study samples with a wide range of motivation deficits and incorporating objective paradigms may provide a more comprehensive understanding of hedonic deficits. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of suicide attempts in schizophrenia and major depressive disorder: an exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Banwari, Girish H; Vankar, Ganpat K; Parikh, Minakshi N

2013-12-01

Schizophrenia and major depressive disorder (MDD) are among the most common psychiatric diagnoses associated with suicide. There is a dearth of published research systematically comparing suicidal behavior in schizophrenia and MDD. The present study aimed to compare suicide attempts in schizophrenia and MDD. In this hospital-based, cross-sectional study, 50 outpatients each of schizophrenia and MDD were evaluated for their sociodemographic characteristics. In subjects with a history of suicide attempt(s), additional information related to the attempt(s) was obtained. Suicide Intent Scale (SIS) was used to assess the suicidal intent and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was used to measure the current suicidal risk. Thirty-four percent and 44% of patients with schizophrenia and MDD, respectively, attempted suicide. The attempters in schizophrenia compared to those in MDD were younger and more likely to be single (unmarried, separated or divorced). Suicidal intent was stronger in schizophrenia, while the attempters with MDD were more often preoccupied with a death wish and reported that stressful life events influenced the attempt. There were no differences in the attempt methods of the two groups. Current suicidal risk was higher in attempters compared to the non-attempters in schizophrenia as well as MDD. Suicide attempts in schizophrenia and MDD have similar features, with quite a few notable differences, which have been discussed at length in the present paper. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

ALCOHOLIC HALLUCINOSIS AND PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA?A COMPARATIVE (CLINICAL AND FOLLOW UP) STUDY

OpenAIRE

Sampath, G.; Kumar, Y. Vikram; Channabasavanna, S. M.; Keshavan, M. S.

1980-01-01

SUMMARY In a Study Of 90 patients of Alcoholic Hallucinosis and 30 patients of Paranoid Schizophrenia, it was found that delusions, delusions of infidelity, third person and running commentary auditory hallucinations and insight were not different in the two groups. Delusions of grandeur, passivity, thought echo and thought broadcast were significantly more frequent in paranoid schizophrenic patients. Anxiety, visual iiafracinatians and hallucinations in more than one modality at the same tim...

Symptom profiles and parental bonding in homicidal versus non-violent male schizophrenia patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Halmai, Tamás; Tényi, Tamás; Gonda, Xénia

2017-01-30

To compare the intensity and the profile of psychotic symptoms and the characteristics of parental bonding of male schizophrenia patients with a history of homicide and those without a history of violent behaviour. Clinical question - We hypothesized more intense psychotic symptoms, especially positive symptoms as signs of a more severe psychopathology in the background of homicidal behaviour. We also hypothesized a more negatively perceived pattern (less Care more Overprotection) of parental bonding in the case of homicidal schizophrenia patients than in non-violent patients and non-violent healthy controls. Symptom severity and symptom profiles were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale in a group of male schizophrenia patients (n=22) with the history of committed or attempted homicide, and another group (n=19) of male schizophrenia patients without a history of violent behaviour. Care- and Overprotection were assessed using the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) in a third group of non-violent healthy controls (n=20), too. Positive, negative and general psychopathology symptoms in the homicidal schizophrenia group were significantly (pOverprotection than violent patients and healthy controls. Homicidal schizophrenia patients showed a pattern similar to the one in the healthy control group. It seems imperative to register intense positive psychotic symptoms as predictive markers for later violent behaviour. In the subgroup of male homicidal schizophrenia patients negatively experienced parental bonding does not appear to be major contributing factor to later homicidal behaviour.

Emotion recognition in Chinese people with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Chetwyn C H; Wong, Raymond; Wang, Kai; Lee, Tatia M C

2008-01-15

This study examined whether people with paranoid or nonparanoid schizophrenia would show emotion-recognition deficits, both facial and prosodic. Furthermore, this study examined the neuropsychological predictors of emotion-recognition ability in people with schizophrenia. Participants comprised 86 people, of whom: 43 were people diagnosed with schizophrenia and 43 were controls. The 43 clinical participants were placed in either the paranoid group (n=19) or the nonparanoid group (n=24). Each participant was administered the Facial Emotion Recognition task and the Prosodic Recognition task, together with other neuropsychological measures of attention and visual perception. People suffering from nonparanoid schizophrenia were found to have deficits in both facial and prosodic emotion recognition, after correction for the differences in the intelligence and depression scores between the two groups. Furthermore, spatial perception was observed to be the best predictor of facial emotion identification in individuals with nonparanoid schizophrenia, whereas attentional processing control predicted both prosodic emotion identification and discrimination in nonparanoid schizophrenia patients. Our findings suggest that patients with schizophrenia in remission may still suffer from impairment of certain aspects of emotion recognition.

Word and nonword repetition in patients with Schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alireza Farnam

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The assessment of the verbal repetition is important in the study of acquired language disorders and neuropsychology. It is helpful in differential diagnosis of aphasia subtypes, auditory breakdowns, and working memory (WM performance. Though different linguistic disorders have been identified in patients with schizophrenia, very little is known about their verbal repetition ability. Methods: The present study was conducted in the inpatient ward of Razi Psychiatric Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran, during the year 2013. Participants were: 30 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia during the maintenance phase of treatment and 30 healthy people as control group. They were asked to repeat 15 words and 15 nonwords immediately. The stimuli were 1, 2, and 3 syllabic in Turkish language. Any incorrect repetition scored 1 and correct repetitions scored 0. Lexicalization errors were compared between groups too. Results: Both groups repeated words better than nonwords. Patients showed lower ability to repeat nonwords than controls, especially in 3 syllabics. There was no significant difference in the repetition of words between groups though it was better in controls. Patients with schizophrenia made more errors in both words and nonwords and lexicalization errors were twice more. Conclusion: Lower ability to repeat nonwords (than words in patients with schizophrenia may show the involvement of phonological loop of WM. More lexicalization errors may take place because of dis-inhibition.

Fewer but heavier caffeine consumers in schizophrenia: a case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurpegui, Manuel; Aguilar, M Carmen; Martínez-Ortega, José M; Jurado, Dolores; Diaz, Francisco J; Quintana, Hernando M; de Leon, Jose

2006-09-01

According to the literature, there is an association between schizophrenia and caffeine consumption, but it is not clear whether schizophrenia is associated with either higher prevalence of daily caffeine intake or the amount consumed. In this study we compared our previously published schizophrenia patients (n=250) with a control sample (n=290) after controlling for demographic variables and tobacco and alcohol consumption. Current caffeine intake was less frequent in schizophrenia patients (59%, 147/250) than in controls (70%, 204/290). In the multivariate analyses, caffeine intake was less frequent at an older age and in schizophrenia patients, and more frequent in smokers and alcohol users. Among caffeine consumers, heavy caffeine intake (> or =200 mg/day) was significantly associated with schizophrenia (64%, 94/147 in schizophrenia versus 36%, 73/204 in controls), as well as older age and smoking. Daily amount of caffeine intake and smoked cigarettes correlated significantly in the schizophrenia group but not in the control group; the correlation of caffeine intake with nicotine dependence was low and non-significant in both groups. The association between current smoking and heavy caffeine intake may be partly explained by a pharmacokinetic effect: tobacco smoke compounds induce caffeine metabolism by the cytochrome P450 1A2. Although schizophrenia by itself may be associated with heavy caffeine intake in caffeine users, part of this association was explained by the association between schizophrenia and smoking. The relationship between caffeine and alcohol intake appeared to be more complex; alcohol and caffeine use were significantly associated, but within caffeine users alcohol was associated with less frequent heavy caffeine consumption among smokers. In future studies, the measurement of plasma caffeine levels will help both to better define heavy caffeine intake and to control for smoking pharmacokinetic effects.

Discriminating between first- and second-order cognition in first-episode paranoid schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bliksted, Vibeke; Samuelsen, Erla; Sandberg, Kristian; Bibby, Bo Martin; Overgaard, Morten Storm

2017-03-01

An impairment of visually perceiving backward masked stimuli is commonly observed in patients with schizophrenia, yet it is unclear whether this impairment is the result of a deficiency in first or higher order processing and for which subtypes of schizophrenia it is present. Here, we compare identification (first order) and metacognitive (higher order) performance in a visual masking paradigm between a highly homogenous group of young first-episode patients diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia (N = 11) to that of carefully matched healthy controls (N = 13). We find no difference across groups in first-order performance, but find a difference in metacognitive performance, particularly for stimuli with relatively high visibility. These results indicate that the masking deficit is present in first-episode patients with paranoid schizophrenia, but that it is primarily an impairment of metacognition.

Flexibility and variability in lexicon usage among Yoruba-speaking Nigerian outpatients with schizophrenia: a controlled study.

Science.gov (United States)

Adewuya, Abiola O; Adewuya, Abiodun O

2008-01-01

The studies on language dysfunction in schizophrenia are few, inconclusive and have all been done in the western culture. There may be cross-cultural and cross-lingual differences in problems with speeches of patients with schizophrenia. This study aims to examine the flexibility or variability in the use of words among a group of Nigerian patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls. The spoken samples of 48 outpatients with schizophrenia and 48 matched controls were assessed using the mean segmental type-token ratio (MSTTR). The sociodemographic and clinical variables of the patients with schizophrenia were also compared with their MSTTR scores. The MSTTR score for the patients with schizophrenia was significantly lower compared with that of healthy controls (p cultural phenomenon. The MSTTR may have value in predicting clinical judgements of thought disorder or in identifying deviant language. These may have broad potentials for application in longitudinal and pathogenetic studies of schizophrenia. (c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Proverb comprehension impairments in schizophrenia are related to executive dysfunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Thoma, Patrizia; Hennecke, Marie; Mandok, Tobias; Wähner, Alfred; Brüne, Martin; Juckel, Georg; Daum, Irene

2009-12-30

The study aimed to investigate the pattern of proverb comprehension impairment and its relationship to proverb familiarity and executive dysfunction in schizophrenia. To assess the specificity of the impairment pattern to schizophrenia, alcohol-dependent patients were included as a psychiatric comparison group, as deficits of executive function and theory of mind as well as dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex, which have been related to proverb comprehension difficulties, are common in both disorders. Twenty-four schizophrenia patients, 20 alcohol-dependent patients and 34 healthy controls were administered a multiple-choice proverb interpretation task incorporating ratings of subjective familiarity and measures of executive function. Schizophrenia patients chose the correct abstract and meaningful interpretations less frequently and instead chose the incorrect concrete (both meaningless and meaningful) proverb interpretations more often than alcohol-dependent patients and healthy controls. Relative to healthy controls, schizophrenia patients also chose more abstract-meaningless response alternatives and were impaired in all executive domains. Impaired divided attention was most consistently associated with proverb interpretation deficits in both patient groups. Taken together, schizophrenia patients showed a specific pattern of proverb comprehension impairments related to executive dysfunction and symptoms. The comparison with the alcohol-dependent subgroup suggests that a more comprehensive and severe impairment of complex higher-order cognitive functions including executive behavioural control and non-literal language comprehension might be associated with frontal dysfunction in schizophrenia as compared to alcohol use disorder.

Neuropsychological profile in adult schizophrenia measured with the CMINDS.

Science.gov (United States)

van Erp, Theo G M; Preda, Adrian; Turner, Jessica A; Callahan, Shawn; Calhoun, Vince D; Bustillo, Juan R; Lim, Kelvin O; Mueller, Bryon; Brown, Gregory G; Vaidya, Jatin G; McEwen, Sarah; Belger, Aysenil; Voyvodic, James; Mathalon, Daniel H; Nguyen, Dana; Ford, Judith M; Potkin, Steven G

2015-12-30

Schizophrenia neurocognitive domain profiles are predominantly based on paper-and-pencil batteries. This study presents the first schizophrenia domain profile based on the Computerized Multiphasic Interactive Neurocognitive System (CMINDS(®)). Neurocognitive domain z-scores were computed from computerized neuropsychological tests, similar to those in the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), administered to 175 patients with schizophrenia and 169 demographically similar healthy volunteers. The schizophrenia domain profile order by effect size was Speed of Processing (d=-1.14), Attention/Vigilance (d=-1.04), Working Memory (d=-1.03), Verbal Learning (d=-1.02), Visual Learning (d=-0.91), and Reasoning/Problem Solving (d=-0.67). There were no significant group by sex interactions, but overall women, compared to men, showed advantages on Attention/Vigilance, Verbal Learning, and Visual Learning compared to Reasoning/Problem Solving on which men showed an advantage over women. The CMINDS can readily be employed in the assessment of cognitive deficits in neuropsychiatric disorders; particularly in large-scale studies that may benefit most from electronic data capture. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Residual Negative Symptoms Differentiate Cognitive Performance in Clinically Stable Patients with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajeev Krishnadas

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Cognitive deficits in various domains have been shown in patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The purpose of the present study was to examine if residual psychopathology explained the difference in cognitive function between clinically stable patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We compared the performance on tests of attention, visual and verbal memory, and executive function of 25 patients with schizophrenia in remission and 25 euthymic bipolar disorder patients with that of 25 healthy controls. Mediation analysis was used to see if residual psychopathology could explain the difference in cognitive function between the patient groups. Both patient groups performed significantly worse than healthy controls on most cognitive tests. Patients with bipolar disorder displayed cognitive deficits that were milder but qualitatively similar to those of patients with schizophrenia. Residual negative symptoms mediated the difference in performance on cognitive tests between the two groups. Neither residual general psychotic symptoms nor greater antipsychotic doses explained this relationship. The shared variance explained by the residual negative and cognitive deficits that the difference between patient groups may be explained by greater frontal cortical neurophysiological deficits in patients with schizophrenia, compared to bipolar disorder. Further longitudinal work may provide insight into pathophysiological mechanisms that underlie these deficits.

Do patients with paranoid and disorganized schizophrenia respond differently to antipsychotic drugs?

Science.gov (United States)

Corves, C; Engel, R R; Davis, J; Leucht, S

2014-07-01

The aim of this study was to compare the differential response to amisulpride in patients with paranoid versus disorganized schizophrenia. We reanalyzed the original data from five different randomized drug trials comparing Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scores in a database containing 427 paranoid and 296 disorganized patients with schizophrenia. Both the disorganized and the paranoid group showed a substantial improvement of the BPRS total score within the first 4 weeks. In the paranoid group, mean (±SD) BPRS reduction was 16.9 (±14.6) (t = 24.06, df = 426, P Paranoid patients improved by 4.8 BPRS points more than disorganized patients (adjusted means 18.90 (CI = 17.33-20.37) for the paranoid and 14.1 (CI = 12.04 - 16.11) for the disorganized group. We conclude that amisulpride is effective in disorganized as well as in paranoid schizophrenia, but that symptom reduction in the disorganized subtype is less pronounced. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF SCHIZOPHRENIA WITH AND WITHOUT OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE SYMPTOMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adavalath Druhin

2017-12-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Schizophrenia is a complex neurobehavioural disorder affecting about 1% of the general population. Schizophrenia is characterised by disordered cognition including a “gain of function” in psychotic symptoms and “loss of function” in specific cognitive functions such as working and declarative memory, but without the progressive dementia that characterises classical neurodegenerative disorder. The primary aim of the study was to compare the profile of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia with and without obsessive compulsive symptoms. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a cross-sectional study. Consecutive patients in the age group of 18-59 years diagnosed to have schizophrenia with at least 2 years of duration of illness consulting in outpatient department of psychiatry and inpatients admitted in psychiatry ward at a tertiary care centre at northern Kerala were included. Clinical status of the patient was assessed using Structured Clinical Interview for DSM - IV - TR (SCID I, the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS and Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS severity and symptom checklist. YBOCS ≥16 was labelled as OCD. Sociodemographic profile of the patients will be collected using specially designed pro forma. Data analysis was done using software “R” (Chi-square and t test. RESULTS A total of 73 participants formed the study sample. The schizophrenia with OCS were better educated were more likely to come from a semi-urban background had alcohol dependence and longer duration of untreated illness than the group with schizophrenia alone. Though, there was increased frequency of paranoid subtype in the study sample, schizophrenia patients with OCD/OCS had majority of undifferentiated subtype. There is no difference in gender, family type, marital status, occupation, religion or socioeconomic status. CONCLUSION Schizophrenia patients with OCS/OCD and without OCS/OCD have comparable clinical profile with few

Molecular Imaging in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klein, H.C.; Doorduin, J.; van Berckel, B.N.M.

2014-01-01

In this chapter, we aim to shed light on the schizophrenia spectrum disorders using molecular imaging. Schizophrenia spectrum disorders consist primarily of the disorders with full-blown psychosis in their course and are grouped in the DSM-IV category of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

Association between variations in the disrupted in schizophrenia 1 gene and schizophrenia: A meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yiliang; Ren, Jun; Ye, Haihong

2018-04-20

Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder. Genetic and functional studies have strongly implicated the disrupted in schizophrenia 1 gene (DISC1) as a candidate susceptibility gene for schizophrenia. Moreover, recent association studies have indicated that several DISC1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with schizophrenia. However, the association is hardly replicate in different ethnic group. Here, we performed a meta-analysis of the association between DISC1 SNPs and schizophrenia in which the samples were divided into subgroups according to ethnicity. Both rs3738401 and rs821616 showed not significantly association with schizophrenia in the Caucasian, Asian, Japanese or Han Chinese populations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Intramuscular ziprasidone versus haloperidol for managing agitation in Chinese patients with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hongyan; Wang, Gang; Zhao, Jingping; Xie, Shiping; Xu, Xiufeng; Shi, Jianguo; Deng, Hehuang; Li, Keqing; Gao, Chengge; Wang, Xiaoping; Vanderburg, Douglas; Pan, Sharon; Tang, Haiyun; Shu, Liang; Karayal, Onur N

2013-04-01

Intramuscular (IM) antipsychotics are preferred for efficient control of agitation symptoms. Previous studies have demonstrated that IM ziprasidone is efficacious and safe for treatment of agitation in schizophrenia. However, clinicians now recognize that racial differences may contribute to altered therapeutic response and tolerability. This study compared the efficacy and tolerability of IM ziprasidone versus IM haloperidol for the management of agitation in Chinese subjects with schizophrenia. Subjects with acute schizophrenia were randomized to either ziprasidone (n = 189, 10 to 20 mg as required up to a maximum of 40 mg/d) or haloperidol (n = 187, 5 mg every 4 to 8 hours to a maximum of 20 mg/d) for 3 days. Psychiatric assessments and adverse events were assessed at baseline, 2, 4, 24, 48, and 72 hours. In the ziprasidone group, 2.1% of subjects discontinued versus 3.7% in the haloperidol group. The least squares mean change (SE) from baseline to 72 hours in Brief Psychiatry Rating Scale total score was -17.32 (0.7) for ziprasidone (n = 167) and -18.44 (0.7) for haloperidol (n = 152), with a 95% confidence interval treatment difference of -0.7 to 2.9. Fewer subjects experienced adverse events after ziprasidone (n = 54, 28.6%) than haloperidol (n = 116, 62.0%), with a notably higher incidence of extrapyramidal symptoms in the haloperidol group (n = 69, 36.9%) compared to the ziprasidone group (n = 4, 2.1%). For controlling agitation in schizophrenia in this Chinese study, ziprasidone had a favorable tolerability profile and comparable efficacy and safety compared to haloperidol.

The neuroanatomical basis of panic disorder and social phobia in schizophrenia: a voxel based morphometric study.

Science.gov (United States)

Picado, Marisol; Carmona, Susanna; Hoekzema, Elseline; Pailhez, Guillem; Bergé, Daniel; Mané, Anna; Fauquet, Jordi; Hilferty, Joseph; Moreno, Ana; Cortizo, Romina; Vilarroya, Oscar; Bulbena, Antoni

2015-01-01

It is known that there is a high prevalence of certain anxiety disorders among schizophrenic patients, especially panic disorder and social phobia. However, the neural underpinnings of the comorbidity of such anxiety disorders and schizophrenia remain unclear. Our study aims to determine the neuroanatomical basis of the co-occurrence of schizophrenia with panic disorder and social phobia. Voxel-based morphometry was used in order to examine brain structure and to measure between-group differences, comparing magnetic resonance images of 20 anxious patients, 20 schizophrenic patients, 20 schizophrenic patients with comorbid anxiety, and 20 healthy control subjects. Compared to the schizophrenic patients, we observed smaller grey-matter volume (GMV) decreases in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and precentral gyrus in the schizophrenic-anxiety group. Additionally, the schizophrenic group showed significantly reduced GMV in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, precentral gyrus, orbitofrontal cortex, temporal gyrus and angular/inferior parietal gyrus when compared to the control group. Our findings suggest that the comorbidity of schizophrenia with panic disorder and social phobia might be characterized by specific neuroanatomical and clinical alterations that may be related to maladaptive emotion regulation related to anxiety. Even thought our findings need to be replicated, our study suggests that the identification of neural abnormalities involved in anxiety, schizophrenia and schizophrenia-anxiety may lead to an improved diagnosis and management of these conditions.

Asthma, corticosteroid use and schizophrenia: A nationwide population-based study in Taiwan.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei-Chen Wang

Full Text Available Asthma and corticosteroid use have been implicated as possible risk factors for schizophrenia. The retrospective cohort study herein aimed to investigate the association between asthma, corticosteroid use, and schizophrenia.Longitudinal data (2000 to 2007 from adults with asthma (n = 50,046 and without asthma (n = 50,046 were compared on measures of schizophrenia incidence using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD. Incidence of schizophrenia diagnosis (ICD-9 codes 295.XX between 2000 and 2007 were compared between groups. Competing risk-adjusted Cox regression analyses were conducted, adjusting for sex, age, residence, socioeconomic status, corticosteroid use, outpatient and emergency room visit frequency, Charlson comorbidity index, and total length of hospital stays days for any disorder.Of the 75,069 subjects, 238 received a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The mean (SD follow-up interval for all subjects was 5.8 (2.3 years. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, asthma was associated with significantly greater hazard ratio for incident schizophrenia 1.40 (95% CI = 1.05, 1.87. Additional factors associated with greater incidence of schizophrenia were rural residence, lower economic status, and poor general health. Older age (i.e. ≥65 years was negatively associated with schizophrenia incidence. Corticosteroid use was not associated with increased risk for schizophrenia.Asthma was associated with increased risk for schizophrenia. The results herein suggest that a convergent disturbance in the immune-inflammatory system may contribute to the pathoetiology of asthma and schizophrenia.

Neurodevelopmental correlates in schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivković Maja

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Contemporary aetiopathogenetic considerations, based on neuro-imaging genetic and developmental neurobiology studies, suggest neurodevelopmental origin of schizophrenia. Several lines of evidence including structural abnormalities on in vivo brain imaging, the excess of prenatal and obstetric complications and the association of congenital and minor physical anomalies with schizophrenia, strongly indicate the neurodevelopmental pathogenesis of schizophrenia. On the other hand, controversial concept of psychotic continuum suggests schizophrenia and depression sharing the same genetic contribution to the pathogenesis. If this would be the case, depression could also be considered as neuro developmental disorder. The aims of the study were to investigate the association between: a pregnancy and birth complications (PBC, and b minor physical anomalies (MPA and schizophrenia or depression. Experimental groups consisted of 60 schizophrenic, 28 major depression patients and 30 healthy controls. All patients were diagnosed according to DSM-IV. Schizophrenic group was divided with regard to PANSS score into positive (n=32 and negative form (n=28 subgroups. PBC information were gathered from maternal recall while MPA were examined by using Waldrop scale for adults. The results showed that negative and positive schizophrenic subgroups had significantly more PBC than depressive group (p<0,05, as well than controls (p<0,001; p<0,05; respectively. There was no significant trend for more PBC in negative than in positive subgroup. All schizophrenic patients had higher rates of MPA than depressives (p<0,05. This trend for more MPA was not significant in comparison with healthy controls. These findings suggest that schizophrenia, especially its negative forms, could be considered as a member of the spectrum of neuro developmental disorders, which does not seem to be the case with depression. PBC and MPA could also be valuable in evaluation of risks for

Treatment outcome of schizophrenia co-morbid with obsessive-compulsive disorder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, M.N.S.; Arshad, N.; Naeem Ullah

2004-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the pharmacological treatment outcome of schizophrenia, co-morbid with obsessive-compulsive disorder by comparing the effects of typical neuroleptic, atypical neuroleptic and a combination of typical with anti-obsessional drugs on positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and obsessional symptoms. Subjects and Methods: The sample consisted of 39 patients suffering from schizophrenia co-morbid with obsessive- compulsive disorder. They were divided in three groups according to the pharmacological treatment given by the treating psychiatrists. Sample was assessed at the start of treatment and twelve weeks later. Results: Patients receiving typical neuroleptics and anti-obsessional drugs showed better outcome (p < .05) both in psychotic (pre-intervention mean scores of positive scale of PANSS 26.90 as compared to postinterventional mean scores 19.00) and obsessional symptoms (pre-intervention mean scores on Padua Inventory 165.00 compared to 84.00 postinterventional mean scores) than those receiving typical and atypical neuroleptics alone. Conclusion: Treatment outcome of schizophrenia co-morbid with obsessive-compulsive disorder shows better results if anti-obsessional drugs are added to the neuroleptics. (author)

Association between Serum Cortisol and DHEA-S Levels and Response to Antipsychotic Treatment in Schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zoja Babinkostova

2015-02-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggested that alterations in serum cortisol and DHEA-S levels may play a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. AIM: To compare serum cortisol and DHEA-S levels between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls and to evaluate their association with the response to antipsychotic treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this clinical prospective study were included 60 patients with schizophrenia and 40 healthy age and sex matched control subjects. Clinical evaluation of patients was performed using the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale. A questionnaire for socio-demographic and clinical data collection was used. For the purposes of the study, the examined group was divided in two subgroups: responders and nonresponders. Serum cortisol and DHEA-S levels were measured at baseline in all participants and after 3 and 6 weeks of the antipsychotic treatment in patients with schizophrenia. RESULTS: Patients with schizophrenia had significantly higher serum cortisol and DHEA-S levels in comparison to the control group. Responders had significantly higher serum cortisol and DHEA-S levels compared with nonresponders. CONCLUSION: Elevated serum cortisol and DHEA-S levels may play a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and they may be related to positive response to antipsychotic treatment in patients with schizophrenia.

Using blood cytokine measures to define high inflammatory biotype of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Boerrigter, Danny; Weickert, Thomas W; Lenroot, Rhoshel; O'Donnell, Maryanne; Galletly, Cherrie; Liu, Dennis; Burgess, Martin; Cadiz, Roxanne; Jacomb, Isabella; Catts, Vibeke S; Fillman, Stu G; Weickert, Cynthia Shannon

2017-09-18

Increases in pro-inflammatory cytokines are found in the brain and blood of people with schizophrenia. However, increased cytokines are not evident in all people with schizophrenia, but are found in a subset. The cytokine changes that best define this subset, termed the "elevated inflammatory biotype", are still being identified. Using quantitative RT-PCR, we measured five cytokine mRNAs (IL-1β, IL-2 IL-6, IL-8 and IL-18) from peripheral blood of healthy controls and of people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (n = 165). We used a cluster analysis of the transcript levels to define those with low and those with elevated levels of cytokine expression. From the same cohort, eight cytokine proteins (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IFNγ and TNFα) were measured in serum and plasma using a Luminex Magpix-based assay. We compared peripheral mRNA and protein levels across diagnostic groups and between those with low and elevated levels of cytokine expression according to our transcription-based cluster analysis. We found an overall decrease in the anti-inflammatory IL-2 mRNA (p = 0.006) and an increase in three serum cytokines, IL-6 (p = 0.010), IL-8 (p = 0.024) and TNFα (p schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. A greater percentage of people with schizophrenia (48%) were categorised into the elevated inflammatory biotype compared to healthy controls (33%). The magnitude of increase in IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 mRNAs in people in the elevated inflammation biotype ranged from 100 to 220% of those in the non-elevated inflammatory biotype and was comparable between control and schizophrenia groups. Blood cytokine protein levels did not correlate with cytokine mRNA levels, and plasma levels of only two cytokines distinguished the elevated and low inflammatory biotypes, with IL-1β significantly increased in the elevated cytokine control group and IL-8 significantly increased in the elevated cytokine schizophrenia group. Our results

Detection of Borna Disease Virus (BDV in Patients with First Episode of Schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hasan Soltani

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: Schizophrenia is a complex widespread neuropsychiatric disorder. This illness encompasses a complex debilitating mental disorder causing illusion, delusion, disturbed relationship, low motivation and decline of emotion. Viral infection of the brain including Borna Disease Virus (BDV may play a role in transient or permanent neurological and behavioral abnormalities. This role of Borna virus has not been resolved outright yet, and based on published papers investigation examining the role of this virus in schizophrenia is in progress worldwide.Method: In this study, Nested Reverse Transcription–Polymerase Chain Reaction (Nested RT-PCR was used for detection of BDV Ribonucleic Acid (RNA in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs of a group of patients experiencing the first episode of schizophrenia. The results were compared with a normal group.Results: In our study, no BDV-positive was found in PBMCs of the case group. Out of 40 participants of control group one was positive for P24 gene of BDV. This result are similar to several published papers about this topic.Conclusion: An etiological relationship between Bornavirus and schizophrenia was not found in this study. More investigations are warranted to illustrate the probable relationship between bornavirus infection and schizophrenia.

Reading Emotions from Body Movement: A Generalized Impairment in Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaskinn, Anja; Sundet, Kjetil; Østefjells, Tiril; Nymo, Katharina; Melle, Ingrid; Ueland, Torill

2015-01-01

Body language reading is a social cognitive process with importance for successful maneuvering of social situations. In this study, we investigated body language reading as assessed with human point-light displays in participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (n = 84) compared to healthy control participants (n = 84), aiming to answer three questions: (1) whether persons with a diagnosis of schizophrenia have poorer body language reading abilities than healthy persons; (2) whether some emotions are easier to read from body language than others, and if this is the same for individuals with schizophrenia and healthy individuals, and (3) whether there are sex differences in body language reading in participants with schizophrenia and healthy participants. A fourth research aim concerned associations of body language reading with symptoms and functioning in participants with schizophrenia. Scores on the body language reading measure was first standardized using a separate sample of healthy control participants (n = 101). Further results showed that persons with schizophrenia had impaired body language reading ability compared to healthy persons. A significant effect of emotion indicated that some emotions (happiness, neutral) were easier to recognize and this was so for both individuals with schizophrenia and healthy individuals. There were no sex differences for either diagnostic group. Body language reading ability was not associated with symptoms or functioning. In conclusion; schizophrenia was characterized by a global impairment in body language reading that was present for all emotions and across sex.

Reading emotions from body movement: a generalized impairment in schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anja eVaskinn

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Body language reading is a social cognitive process with importance for successful maneuvering of social situations. In this study, we investigated body language reading as assessed with human point-light displays in participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (n = 84 compared to healthy control participants (n = 84, aiming to answer three questions: 1 whether persons with a diagnosis of schizophrenia have poorer body language reading abilities than healthy persons; 2 whether some emotions are easier to read from body language than others, and if this is the same for individuals with schizophrenia and healthy individuals, and 3 whether there are sex differences in body language reading in participants with schizophrenia and healthy participants. A fourth research aim concerned associations of body language reading with symptoms and functioning in participants with schizophrenia. Scores on the body language reading measure was first standardized using a separate sample of healthy control participants (n = 101. Further results showed that persons with schizophrenia had impaired body language reading ability compared to healthy persons. A significant effect of emotion indicated that some emotions (happiness, neutral were easier to recognize and this was so for both individuals with schizophrenia and healthy individuals. There were no sex differences for either diagnostic group. Body language reading ability was not associated with symptoms or functioning. In conclusion; schizophrenia was characterized by a global impairment in body language reading that was present for all emotions and across sex.

History of religious delusions and psychosocial functioning among Mexican patients with paranoid schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Robles-García, Rebeca; López-Luna, Sonia; Páez, Francisco; Escamilla, Raúl; Camarena, Beatriz; Fresán, Ana

2014-12-01

The association between global functionality and religiosity among patients from developing and predominantly Catholic countries warrants attention. To compare religiosity and psychosocial functioning in Mexican schizophrenia patients with and without a history of religious delusions, seventy-four patients with paranoid schizophrenia were recruited. Patients with a history of religious delusions had more psychiatric hospitalizations and poorer psychosocial functioning compared with those without a history of religious delusions. No differences emerged between groups in the total scores of religiosity scales. A history of religious delusions rather than religiosity itself may have an influence on psychosocial functioning among Mexican patients with schizophrenia.

Distinct facial processing in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yue; Cataldo, Andrea; Norton, Daniel J; Ongur, Dost

2011-01-01

Although schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders have both similar and differing clinical features, it is not well understood whether similar or differing pathophysiological processes mediate patients’ cognitive functions. Using psychophysical methods, this study compared the performances of schizophrenia (SZ) patients, patients with schizoaffective disorder (SA), and a healthy control group in two face-related cognitive tasks: emotion discrimination, which tested perception of facial affect, and identity discrimination, which tested perception of non-affective facial features. Compared to healthy controls, SZ patients, but not SA patients, exhibited deficient performance in both fear and happiness discrimination, as well as identity discrimination. SZ patients, but not SA patients, also showed impaired performance in a theory-of-mind task for which emotional expressions are identified based upon the eye regions of face images. This pattern of results suggests distinct processing of face information in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders. PMID:21868199

Exploring rationality in schizophrenia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Revsbech, Rasmus; Mortensen, Erik Lykke; Owen, Gareth

2015-01-01

Background Empirical studies of rationality (syllogisms) in patients with schizophrenia have obtained different results. One study found that patients reason more logically if the syllogism is presented through an unusual content. Aims To explore syllogism-based rationality in schizophrenia. Meth...... differences became non-significant. Conclusions When taking intelligence and neuropsychological performance into account, patients with schizophrenia and controls perform similarly on syllogism tests of rationality.......Background Empirical studies of rationality (syllogisms) in patients with schizophrenia have obtained different results. One study found that patients reason more logically if the syllogism is presented through an unusual content. Aims To explore syllogism-based rationality in schizophrenia. Method...... Thirty-eight first-admitted patients with schizophrenia and 38 healthy controls solved 29 syllogisms that varied in presentation content (ordinary v. unusual) and validity (valid v. invalid). Statistical tests were made of unadjusted and adjusted group differences in models adjusting for intelligence...

Evaluating lexical characteristics of verbal fluency output in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Juhasz, Barbara J; Chambers, Destinee; Shesler, Leah W; Haber, Alix; Kurtz, Matthew M

2012-12-30

Standardized lexical analysis of verbal output has not been applied to verbal fluency tasks in schizophrenia. Performance of individuals with schizophrenia on both a letter (n=139) and semantic (n=137) fluency task was investigated. The lexical characteristics (word frequency, age-of-acquisition, word length, and semantic typicality) of words produced were evaluated and compared to those produced by a healthy control group matched on age, gender, and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III) vocabulary scores (n=20). Overall, individuals with schizophrenia produced fewer words than healthy controls, replicating past research (see Bokat and Goldberg, 2003). Words produced in the semantic fluency task by individuals with schizophrenia were, on average, earlier acquired and more typical of the category. In contrast, no differences in lexical characteristics emerged in the letter fluency task. The results are informative regarding how individuals with schizophrenia access their mental lexicons during the verbal fluency task. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Trends in cannabis use prior to first presentation with schizophrenia, in South-East London between 1965 and 1999.

Science.gov (United States)

Boydell, J; van Os, J; Caspi, A; Kennedy, N; Giouroukou, E; Fearon, P; Farrell, M; Murray, R M

2006-10-01

There is evidence that cannabis use might be relevant to the aetiology of schizophrenia. We aimed to measure any change in cannabis use over time in those first presenting with schizophrenia in South-East London from 1965 to 1999, and compare this with change in use in those presenting with non-psychotic psychiatric disorders. The rate of cannabis use in the year prior to first ever presentation was measured over seven time periods. Logistic regression modelling was used to determine (a) whether cannabis use changed over time, after controlling for age, sex and ethnicity, and (b) whether there was an interaction between diagnosis and time. Cannabis use increased over time in both the schizophrenia group [odds ratio per time period (OR) 2.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.74-2.38, p<0.0001] and the non-psychotic disorders group (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.05-1.47, p=0.012), after controlling for age, sex and ethnicity. However, the effect of time was significantly greater in the schizophrenia group than in the non-schizophrenia group (chi2=17, p<0.0001). Cannabis use in the year prior to presentation with schizophrenia increased markedly between 1965 and 1999, and disproportionately so compared to increase in cannabis use in other psychiatric disorders.

Affective empathy in schizophrenia: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonfils, Kelsey A; Lysaker, Paul H; Minor, Kyle S; Salyers, Michelle P

2016-08-01

Affective empathy, or the emotional response one has to the experiences or emotional states of others, contributes to relationship-maintaining behaviors and is key in fostering social connections, yet no work has synthesized the body of literature for people with schizophrenia. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to determine the extent to which those diagnosed with schizophrenia experience deficits in affective empathy. A literature search was conducted of studies examining empathy. Data were analyzed using a random effects meta-analytic model with Hedges' g standardized mean difference effect size. Individuals with schizophrenia exhibited significant, medium deficits in affective empathy (k=37). Measurement type moderated the affective empathy deficit such that performance-based measures showed larger schizophrenia group deficits than self-report measures. Consistent, significant deficits in affective empathy were found comparing people with schizophrenia to healthy controls, especially when using performance-based assessments. The medium effect suggests an important role for empathy in the realm of social cognitive research, and points to the need for further investigation of measurement techniques and associations with functional outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Schizophrenia illness severity is associated with reduced loss aversion.

Science.gov (United States)

Currie, James; Buruju, Dheeraj; Perrin, Jennifer S; Reid, Ian C; Steele, J Douglas; Feltovich, Nick

2017-06-01

Loss aversion, whereby losses weigh more heavily than equal-sized gains, has been demonstrated in many decision-making settings. Previous research has suggested reduced loss aversion in schizophrenia, but with little evidence of a link between loss aversion and schizophrenia illness severity. In this study, 20 individuals with schizophrenia and 16 control participants, matched by age and sex, played two versions of the Iterated Prisoners' Dilemma, one version with only positive payoffs and another version in which negative payoffs were possible, with the second version being derived from the first by subtracting a constant value from all payoffs. The control group demonstrated significantly lower cooperation rates under negative payoffs, compared with the version with only positive payoffs, indicative of loss aversion. The patient group on average showed no loss aversion response. Moreover, the extent of loss aversion in patients was found to be negatively correlated with schizophrenia illness severity, with less ill patients showing loss aversion more similar to controls. Results were found to be robust to the inclusion of potential confounding factors as covariates within rigorous probit regression analyses. Reduced loss aversion is a feature of schizophrenia and related to illness severity. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Gray Matter Volume Decrease Distinguishes Schizophrenia From Bipolar Offspring During Childhood and Adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Sugranyes, Gisela; de la Serna, Elena; Romero, Soledad; Sanchez-Gistau, Vanessa; Calvo, Anna; Moreno, Dolores; Baeza, Inmaculada; Diaz-Caneja, Covadonga M; Sanchez-Gutierrez, Teresa; Janssen, Joost; Bargallo, Nuria; Castro-Fornieles, Josefina

2015-08-01

There is increasing support toward the notion that schizophrenia and bipolar disorder share neurodevelopmental underpinnings, although areas of divergence remain. We set out to examine gray matter volume characteristics of child and adolescent offspring of patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder comparatively. In this 2-center study, magnetic resonance structural neuroimaging data were acquired in 198 children and adolescents (aged 6-17 years): 38 offspring of patients with schizophrenia, 77 offspring of patients with bipolar disorder, and 83 offspring of community controls. Analyses of global brain volumes and voxel-based morphometry (using familywise error correction) were conducted. There was an effect of group on total cerebral gray matter volume (F = 3.26, p = .041), driven by a decrease in offspring of patients with schizophrenia relative to offspring of controls (p = .035). At a voxel-based level, we observed an effect of group in the left inferior frontal cortex/anterior insula (F = 14.7, p bipolar disorder (p bipolar disorder and offspring of controls in either global or voxel-based gray matter volumes. This first comparative study between offspring of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder suggests that gray matter volume reduction in childhood and adolescence may be specific to offspring of patients with schizophrenia; this may index a greater neurodevelopmental impact of risk for schizophrenia relative to bipolar disorder during youth. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neurocognitive performance, psychopathology and social functioning in individuals at high risk for schizophrenia or psychotic bipolar disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Gkintoni, Evgenia; Pallis, Eleftherios G; Bitsios, Panos; Giakoumaki, Stella G

2017-01-15

Although cognitive deficits are consistent endophenotypes of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, findings in psychotic bipolar disorder (BDP) are inconsistent. In this study we compared adult unaffected first-degree relatives of schizophrenia and BDP patients on cognition, psychopathology, social functioning and quality of life. Sixty-six unaffected first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients (SUnR), 36 unaffected first-degree relatives of BDP patients (BDPUnR) and 102 controls participated in the study. Between-group differences were examined and Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) predicted group membership. Visual memory, control inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility and abstract reasoning were linearly impaired in the relatives' groups. Poorer verbal fluency and processing speed were evident only in the SUnR group. The SUnR group had higher depressive and somatization symptoms while the BDPUnR group had higher anxiety and lower social functioning compared with the controls. Individuals with superior cognition were more likely to be classified as controls; those with higher social functioning, prolonged processing speed and lower anxiety were more likely to be classified as SUnR. The relatives' sample is quite heterogeneous; the effects of genetic or environmental risk-factors were not examined. Cognitive functions mediated by a fronto-parietal network, show linear impairments in unaffected relatives of BDP and schizophrenia patients; processing speed and verbal fluency impairments were evident only in schizophrenia relatives. Self-perceived symptomatology and social functioning also differ between schizophrenia and BDP relatives. The continuum seen in patients in several indices was also seen in the cognitive impairments in unaffected relatives of schizophrenia and BDP patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

M42. Metacognitive Deficits in Schizophrenia; Comparisons With Borderline Personality Disorder and Substance Use Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Buck, Kelly; Leonhardt, Bethany; George, Sunita; James, Alison; Vohs, Jenifer; Lysaker, Paul

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: Metacognition is a psychological function that includes a spectrum of mental activities. These activities involve thinking about thinking and range from more discrete acts, in which people recognize specific thoughts and feelings, to more synthetic acts in which an array of intentions, thoughts, feelings, and connections between events are integrated into larger complex representations. Recently, interest has arisen in the important role that metacognitive deficits may play in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Research has found that many with schizophrenia experience compromised metacognitive capacity and the degree of impairment in metacognition has been linked to negative and disorganized symptoms, decrement in social functioning, and lower levels of subjective indicators of recovery. While metacognitive deficits have been broadly explored in schizophrenia, less is known about whether these deficits are similar or different than those found in other forms of serious mental illness. Methods: To explore this issue, we administered assessments of metacognition using the Metacognition Assessment Scale-Abbreviated, Alexithymia using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and Social Cognition using the Bell Lysaker Emotion Recognition Scale to 65 adults with Schizophrenia, 34 adults with Borderline Personality Disorder (PD) and 32 adults with a Substance Use Disorder. We chose Borderline PD as our primary comparison because this group has also been found to have profound alterations in the ability to recognize and think about one’s own and others’ mental activities. We chose substance use disorder as a third psychiatric condition given that this is a common comorbidity of Borderline PD and Schizophrenia and because it has also been linked with deficits in the ability to reflect about mental states. Results: ANCOVA controlling for age revealed the Schizophrenia group had significant poorer overall metacognition compared to the other 2 groups while the

Influence of psycho-social factors on the emergence of depression and suicidal risk in patients with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Pješčić, Katarina Dokić; Nenadović, Milutin M; Jašović-Gašić, Miroslava; Trajković, Goran; Kostić, Mirjana; Ristić-Dimitrijević, Radmila

2014-09-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of certain psychosocial factors - insight, psycho-education, family and social support, loneliness and social isolation - on the appearance of depression and suicidal risk in schizophrenia. This was a cross-sectional study that comprised hospitalized patients with schizophrenia in the initial remission phase. The assessment of depression and suicidal risk was made by applying a semi-structured psychiatric interview that included scrutinized factors (insight, psycho-education, family and social support, loneliness and social isolation), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS). On the basis of the assessment results, the sample was divided into two groups: Group of patients with depression and suicidal risk in schizophrenia (N = 53) and Control group (N = 159) of patients with schizophrenia without depression and suicidal risk. In the Group of patients with depression and suicidal risk, compared with the Control group, there was significantly higher frequency of insight in the mental status (χ² = 31.736, p risk in schizophrenia. This study shows that considered psycho-social factors - insight in the mental status, lack of psycho-education, as well as social isolation - could be predictors for appearance of depression and suicidal risk in schizophrenia.

Comparative study of clozapine versus risperidone in treatment-naive, first-episode schizophrenia: A pilot study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukhtej Sahni

2016-01-01

Interpretation & conclusions: The findings of this preliminary study showed clozapine as a better choice than risperidone in terms of efficacy, tolerability and better quality of life in treatment-naive, first-episode schizophrenia. However, further studies need to be done on a larger group of patients to confirm the findings.

Treatment of substance use disorders in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Melanie E; Bradshaw, Kristen R; Catalano, Lauren T

2017-07-01

Substance use disorders (SUDs) represent a great barrier to functional recovery for individuals with schizophrenia. It is important to use research on treatment of SUDs in schizophrenia to guide treatment recommendations and program planning. We review studies of pharmacological and psychosocial interventions to treat SUDs in individuals with schizophrenia. The criteria used to select studies for inclusion are (1) the percentage of the sample with a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis is at least 25%; (2) participants have a comorbid SUD or problem use of substances; (3) an intervention for SUD is provided; (4) a substance use-related outcome is measured; and (5) the study design enabled examination of pre-post outcome measures including open label trials, nonrandomized evaluations (quasi-experimental designs, nonrandom assignment to groups), or randomized controlled trials. There are few psychopharmacology outcomes studies. Most have examined use of antipsychotic medications to treat SUDs in schizophrenia. Several trials have yielded positive findings for naltrexone in reducing drinking compared to placebo in this population. Motivational and cognitive-behavioral interventions are associated with decreased substance use in several trials. Treatment for SUDs is feasible within a range of settings and acceptable to many individuals with schizophrenia. All individuals with schizophrenia should be offered brief or more extended psychosocial interventions that incorporate discussion of personal reasons to change and training in cognitive-behavioral strategies to reduce use, cope with cravings and stress, and avoid relapse. Future research must include larger samples, longitudinal designs, and similar outcome measures across studies.

Local and Widely Distributed EEG Activity in Schizophrenia With Prevalence of Negative Symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Grin-Yatsenko, Vera A; Ponomarev, Valery A; Pronina, Marina V; Poliakov, Yury I; Plotnikova, Irina V; Kropotov, Juri D

2017-09-01

We evaluated EEG frequency abnormalities in resting state (eyes closed and eyes open) EEG in a group of chronic schizophrenia patients as compared with healthy subjects. The study included 3 methods of analysis of deviation of EEG characteristics: genuine EEG, current source density (CSD), and group independent component (gIC). All 3 methods have shown that the EEG in schizophrenia patients is characterized by enhanced low-frequency (delta and theta) and high-frequency (beta) activity in comparison with the control group. However, the spatial pattern of differences was dependent on the type of method used. Comparative analysis has shown that increased EEG power in schizophrenia patients apparently concerns both widely spatially distributed components and local components of signal. Furthermore, the observed differences in the delta and theta range can be described mainly by the local components, and those in the beta range mostly by spatially widely distributed ones. The possible nature of the widely distributed activity is discussed.

Participation in daily life of people with schizophrenia in comparison to the general population.

Science.gov (United States)

Lipskaya-Velikovsky, Lena; Jarus, Tal; Easterbrook, Adam; Kotler, Moshe

2016-12-01

Participation in occupations is a basic human right. Although people with schizophrenia commonly experience restrictions in participation, there is a paucity of research in this area. This study aimed to compare the participation patterns of people with schizophrenia to people without mental illness (control group). A total of 140 people of similar age and sex completed the Adults Subjective Assessment of Participation and provided demographic and health-related data. People with schizophrenia tend to participate in fewer activities and to participate alone. However, they participate with similar intensity as those in the control group. The participation patterns of people with schizophrenia are both unique and similar to those of the general population. The differences in participation raise concerns due to signs of restriction and social exclusion. However, it appears that people with schizophrenia benefit from occupation and community-based services that promote and support participation with others in diverse activities.

Disruption of structure–function coupling in the schizophrenia connectome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luca Cocchi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that the phenomenology of schizophrenia maps onto diffuse alterations in large-scale functional and structural brain networks. However, the relationship between structural and functional deficits remains unclear. To answer this question, patients with established schizophrenia and matched healthy controls underwent resting-state functional and diffusion weighted imaging. The network-based statistic was used to characterize between-group differences in whole-brain functional connectivity. Indices of white matter integrity were then estimated to assess the structural correlates of the functional alterations observed in patients. Finally, group differences in the relationship between indices of functional and structural brain connectivity were determined. Compared to controls, patients with schizophrenia showed decreased functional connectivity and impaired white matter integrity in a distributed network encompassing frontal, temporal, thalamic, and striatal regions. In controls, strong interregional coupling in neural activity was associated with well-myelinated white matter pathways in this network. This correspondence between structure and function appeared to be absent in patients with schizophrenia. In two additional disrupted functional networks, encompassing parietal, occipital, and temporal cortices, the relationship between function and structure was not affected. Overall, results from this study highlight the importance of considering not only the separable impact of functional and structural connectivity deficits on the pathoaetiology of schizophrenia, but also the implications of the complex nature of their interaction. More specifically, our findings support the core nature of fronto-striatal, fronto-thalamic, and fronto-temporal abnormalities in the schizophrenia connectome.

Elevated gamma-aminobutyric acid levels in chronic schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ongür, Dost; Prescot, Andrew P; McCarthy, Julie; Cohen, Bruce M; Renshaw, Perry F

2010-10-01

Despite widely replicated abnormalities of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons in schizophrenia postmortem, few studies have measured tissue GABA levels in vivo. We used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure tissue GABA levels in participants with schizophrenia and healthy control subjects in the anterior cingulate cortex and parieto-occipital cortex. Twenty-one schizophrenia participants effectively treated on a stable medication regimen (mean age 39.0, 14 male) and 19 healthy control subjects (mean age 36.3, 12 male) underwent a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy scan using GABA-selective editing at 4 Tesla after providing informed consent. Data were collected from two 16.7-mL voxels and analyzed using LCModel. We found elevations in GABA/creatine in the schizophrenia group compared with control subjects [F(1,65) = 4.149, p = .046] in both brain areas (15.5% elevation in anterior cingulate cortex, 11.9% in parieto-occipital cortex). We also found a positive correlation between GABA/creatine and glutamate/creatine, which was not accounted for by % GM or brain region. We found elevated GABA/creatinine in participants with chronically treated schizophrenia. Postmortem studies report evidence for dysfunctional GABAergic neurotransmission in schizophrenia. Elevated GABA levels, whether primary to illness or compensatory to another process, may be associated with dysfunctional GABAergic neurotransmission in chronic schizophrenia. Copyright © 2010 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Elevated levels of plasma phenylalanine in schizophrenia: a guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase-1 metabolic pathway abnormality?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olaoluwa Okusaga

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Phenylalanine and tyrosine are precursor amino acids required for the synthesis of dopamine, the main neurotransmitter implicated in the neurobiology of schizophrenia. Inflammation, increasingly implicated in schizophrenia, can impair the function of the enzyme Phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH; which catalyzes the conversion of phenylalanine to tyrosine and thus lead to elevated phenylalanine levels and reduced tyrosine levels. This study aimed to compare phenylalanine, tyrosine, and their ratio (a proxy for PAH function in a relatively large sample of schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. METHODS: We measured non-fasting plasma phenylalanine and tyrosine in 950 schizophrenia patients and 1000 healthy controls. We carried out multivariate analyses to compare log transformed phenylalanine, tyrosine, and phenylalanine:tyrosine ratio between patients and controls. RESULTS: Compared to controls, schizophrenia patients had higher phenylalanine (p<0.0001 and phenylalanine: tyrosine ratio (p<0.0001 but tyrosine did not differ between the two groups (p = 0.596. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated phenylalanine and phenylalanine:tyrosine ratio in the blood of schizophrenia patients have to be replicated in longitudinal studies. The results may relate to an abnormal PAH function in schizophrenia that could become a target for novel preventative and interventional approaches.

Psychosis among "healthy" siblings of schizophrenia patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Partonen Timo

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Schizophrenia aggregates in families and accurate diagnoses are essential for genetic studies of schizophrenia. In this study, we investigated whether siblings of patients with schizophrenia can be identified as free of any psychotic disorder using only register information. We also analyzed the emergence of psychotic disorders among siblings of patients with schizophrenia during seven to eleven years of follow-up. Methods A genetically homogenous population isolate in north-eastern Finland having 365 families with 446 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia was initially identified in 1991 using four nationwide registers. Between 1998 and 2002, 124 patients and 183 siblings in 110 families were contacted and interviewed using SCID-I, SCID-II and SANS. We also compared the frequency of mental disorders between siblings and a random population comparison group sample. Results Thirty (16% siblings received a diagnosis of psychotic disorder in the interview. 14 siblings had had psychotic symptoms already before 1991, while 16 developed psychotic symptoms during the follow-up. Over half of the siblings (n = 99, 54% had a lifetime diagnosis of any mental disorder in the interview. Conclusion Register information cannot be used to exclude psychotic disorders among siblings of patients with schizophrenia. The high rate of emergence of new psychotic disorders among initially healthy siblings should be taken into account in genetic analysis.

Neurological Soft Signs in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Standardised Assessment and Comparison with Schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Bolton

1999-01-01

Full Text Available While several studies have detected raised levels of neurological soft signs in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD, the specificity of these abnormalities remains uncertain. This study used a new standardised measure, the Cambridge Neurological Inventory (CNI, to assess soft signs in 51 subjects with OCD. Comparison was made with data on patients with schizophrenia and a non-clinical control group from a previously reported study. Individuals with OCD showed raised levels of soft signs compared with non-clinical controls in many categories of the CNI: Motor Coordination, Sensory Integration, Primitive Reflexes, Extrapyramidal Signs, and Failure of Suppression. Compared with patients with schizophrenia, the OCD group had lower levels of neurological signs in some CNI categories: Hard Signs, Motor Co-ordination, Tardive Dyskinesia, Catatonic Signs, and Extrapyramidal Signs. However, levels of soft signs in the OCD group did not significantly differ from those in the schizophrenia group in other CNI categories: Sensory Integration, Primitive Reflexes and Failure of Suppression. The significance of these patterns of findings is discussed.

Motor deficits in schizophrenia quantified by nonlinear analysis of postural sway.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jerillyn S Kent

Full Text Available Motor dysfunction is a consistently reported but understudied aspect of schizophrenia. Postural sway area was examined in individuals with schizophrenia under four conditions with different amounts of visual and proprioceptive feedback: eyes open or closed and feet together or shoulder width apart. The nonlinear complexity of postural sway was assessed by detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA. The schizophrenia group (n = 27 exhibited greater sway area compared to controls (n = 37. Participants with schizophrenia showed increased sway area following the removal of visual input, while this pattern was absent in controls. Examination of DFA revealed decreased complexity of postural sway and abnormal changes in complexity upon removal of visual input in individuals with schizophrenia. Additionally, less complex postural sway was associated with increased symptom severity in participants with schizophrenia. Given the critical involvement of the cerebellum and related circuits in postural stability and sensorimotor integration, these results are consistent with growing evidence of motor, cerebellar, and sensory integration dysfunction in the disorder, and with theoretical models that implicate cerebellar deficits and more general disconnection of function in schizophrenia.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Expression in Individuals With Schizophrenia and Healthy Aging: Testing the Accelerated Aging Hypothesis of Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Islam, Farhana; Mulsant, Benoit H; Voineskos, Aristotle N; Rajji, Tarek K

2017-07-01

Schizophrenia has been hypothesized to be a syndrome of accelerated aging. Brain plasticity is vulnerable to the normal aging process and affected in schizophrenia: brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is an important neuroplasticity molecule. The present review explores the accelerated aging hypothesis of schizophrenia by comparing changes in BDNF expression in schizophrenia with aging-associated changes. Individuals with schizophrenia show patterns of increased overall mortality, metabolic abnormalities, and cognitive decline normally observed later in life in the healthy population. An overall decrease is observed in BDNF expression in schizophrenia compared to healthy controls and in older individuals compared to a younger cohort. There is a marked decrease in BDNF levels in the frontal regions and in the periphery among older individuals and those with schizophrenia; however, data for BDNF expression in the occipital, parietal, and temporal cortices and the hippocampus is inconclusive. Accelerated aging hypothesis is supported based on frontal regions and peripheral studies; however, further studies are needed in other brain regions.

[Decision-making and schizophrenia].

Science.gov (United States)

Adida, M; Maurel, M; Kaladjian, A; Fakra, E; Lazerges, P; Da Fonseca, D; Belzeaux, R; Cermolacce, M; Azorin, J-M

2011-12-01

Abnormalities involving the prefrontal cortex (PFC) have long been postulated to underpin the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Investigations of PFC integrity have focused mainly on the dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) and abnormalities in this region have been extensively documented. However, defects in schizophrenia may extend to other prefrontal regions, including the ventromedial PFC (VMPFC), and evidence of VMPFC abnormalities comes from neuropathological, structural and functional studies. Patients with acquired brain injury to the VMPFC display profound disruption of social behaviour and poor judgment in their personal lives. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) was developed to assess decision-making in these neurological cases : it presents a series of 100 choices from four card decks that differ in the distribution of rewarding and punishing outcomes. Whilst healthy volunteers gradually develop a preference for the two "safe" decks over the course of the task, patients with VMPFC lesions maintain a preference for the two "risky" decks which are associated with high reinforcement in the short term, but significant long-term debt. Interestingly, damage to VMPFC may cause both poor performance on the IGT and lack of insight concerning the acquired personality modification. Recently, our group reported a trait-related decisionmaking impairment in the three phases of bipolar disorder. In a PET study, VMPFC dysfunction was shown in bipolar manic patients impaired on a decision-making task and an association between decision-making cognition and lack of insight was described in mania. A quantitative association between grey matter volume of VMPFC and memory impairment was previously reported in schizophrenia. Research suggests that lack of insight is a prevalent feature in schizophrenia patients, like auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, and disorganized speech and thinking. Because schizophrenia is associated with significant social or occupational

Abnormal early brain responses during visual search are evident in schizophrenia but not bipolar affective disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

VanMeerten, Nicolaas J; Dubke, Rachel E; Stanwyck, John J; Kang, Seung Suk; Sponheim, Scott R

2016-01-01

People with schizophrenia show deficits in processing visual stimuli but neural abnormalities underlying the deficits are unclear and it is unknown whether such functional brain abnormalities are present in other severe mental disorders or in individuals who carry genetic liability for schizophrenia. To better characterize brain responses underlying visual search deficits and test their specificity to schizophrenia we gathered behavioral and electrophysiological responses during visual search (i.e., Span of Apprehension [SOA] task) from 38 people with schizophrenia, 31 people with bipolar disorder, 58 biological relatives of people with schizophrenia, 37 biological relatives of people with bipolar disorder, and 65 non-psychiatric control participants. Through subtracting neural responses associated with purely sensory aspects of the stimuli we found that people with schizophrenia exhibited reduced early posterior task-related neural responses (i.e., Span Endogenous Negativity [SEN]) while other groups showed normative responses. People with schizophrenia exhibited longer reaction times than controls during visual search but nearly identical accuracy. Those individuals with schizophrenia who had larger SENs performed more efficiently (i.e., shorter reaction times) on the SOA task suggesting that modulation of early visual cortical responses facilitated their visual search. People with schizophrenia also exhibited a diminished P300 response compared to other groups. Unaffected first-degree relatives of people with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia showed an amplified N1 response over posterior brain regions in comparison to other groups. Diminished early posterior brain responses are associated with impaired visual search in schizophrenia and appear to be specifically associated with the neuropathology of schizophrenia. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Unrecognised myocardial infarction in patients with schizophrenia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jimmi; Juel, Jacob; Alzuhairi, Karam

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Schizophrenia is associated with a reduction of the lifespan by 20 years, with type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease contributing the most to the increased mortality. Unrecognised or silent myocardial infarction (MI) occurs in ~30% of the population, but the rates of unrecognised...... MI in patients with schizophrenia have only been sparsely investigated. METHOD: Electrocardiograms (ECG) from three psychiatric hospitals in Denmark were manually interpreted for signs of previous MI. Subsequently, ECGs were linked to the National Patient Registry in order to determine whether...... with unrecognised MI in a stepwise multiple logistic regression model compared with patients with no history of MI, OR: 1.03 per year of age, 95% CI: 1.00-1.06, p=0.021. CONCLUSION: Unrecognised MI is common among patients with schizophrenia and may contribute to the increased mortality found in this patient group....

A multicenter, randomized controlled trial of individualized occupational therapy for patients with schizophrenia in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Ohori, Manami; Inagaki, Yusuke; Shimooka, Yuko; Sugimura, Naoya; Ishihara, Ikuyo; Yoshida, Tomotaka

2018-01-01

The individualized occupational therapy (IOT) program is a psychosocial program that we developed to facilitate proactive participation in treatment and improve cognitive functioning and other outcomes for inpatients with acute schizophrenia. The program consists of motivational interviewing, self-monitoring, individualized visits, handicraft activities, individualized psychoeducation, and discharge planning. This multicenter, open-labeled, blinded-endpoint, randomized controlled trial evaluated the impact of adding IOT to a group OT (GOT) program as usual for outcomes in recently hospitalized patients with schizophrenia in Japanese psychiatric hospitals setting compared with GOT alone. Patients with schizophrenia were randomly assigned to the GOT+IOT group or the GOT alone group. Among 136 randomized patients, 129 were included in the intent-to-treat population: 66 in the GOT+IOT and 63 in the GOT alone groups. Outcomes were administered at baseline and discharge or 3 months following hospitalization including the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia Japanese version (BACS-J), the Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale Japanese version, the Social Functioning Scale Japanese version, the Global Assessment of Functioning scale, the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory Japanese version (IMI-J), the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 (MMAS-8), the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and the Japanese version of Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 (CSQ-8J). Results of linear mixed effects models indicated that the IOT+GOT showed significant improvements in verbal memory (p IOT demonstrated significant improvements on the CSQ-8J compared with the GOT alone (p IOT program and its effectiveness for improving cognitive impairment and other outcomes in patients with schizophrenia. PMID:29621261

Feasibility and effectiveness of a cognitive remediation programme with original computerised cognitive training and group intervention for schizophrenia: a multicentre randomised trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuda, Yasuhiro; Morimoto, Tsubasa; Furukawa, Shunichi; Sato, Sayaka; Hatsuse, Norifumi; Iwata, Kazuhiko; Kimura, Mieko; Kishimoto, Toshifumi; Ikebuchi, Emi

2018-04-01

Devising new methods to improve neurocognitive impairment through cognitive remediation is an important research goal. We developed an original computer programme termed the Japanese Cognitive Rehabilitation Programme for Schizophrenia (JCORES) that provides cognitive practice across a broad range of abilities. The current study examined for the first time whether a cognitive remediation programme, including both computerised cognitive training using JCORES and group intervention such as enhancing meta-cognition and teaching strategies, is more effective than treatment as usual for improving neurocognitive and social functioning. Sixty-two outpatients with schizophrenia were randomised to either a cognitive remediation group or a control group. Participants engaged in two computerised cognitive training sessions and one group meeting per week for 12 weeks. The average number of total sessions attended (computerised cognitive practice + group intervention) was 32.3 (89.7%). The cognitive remediation group showed significantly more improvements in verbal memory, composite score of the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia, Japanese version (BACS-J), and general psychopathology on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) than the control group. These findings demonstrate that a cognitive remediation programme is feasible in Japan and is a more effective way to improve neurocognitive functioning and psychiatric symptoms.

Theory of mind performance using a story comprehension task in bipolar mania compared to schizophrenia and healthy controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Rossell, Susan L; Van Rheenen, Tamsyn E

2013-01-01

Theory of mind (ToM) refers to the ability to understand the mental state of self and others. There is limited research into this topic in bipolar disorder (BD), with no previous study examining ToM in a BD group within a psychotic manic phase. Twenty-eight psychotic manic BD patients were compared with 30 schizophrenia (SCZ) patients and 29 healthy controls (HC). Participants performed a ToM story comprehension task that compared ToM stories and non-ToM stories (which we relabelled non-ToM "semantic" stories). Performance was examined by answering comprehension questions. Both patient groups were equally impaired on their scores for ToM stories (scores BD = 10/24, SCZ = 9/24, HC = 14/24, p psychotic symptoms. Patient performance was also impaired on the control condition (i.e., non-ToM semantic stories) supporting an additional deficit in semantic processing.

Evaluation of the efficacy of the continuation electroconvulsive therapy in treatment-resistant schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isil Gogcegoz Gul

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Background : Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT has been reported being a safe and effective treatment in schizophrenia. However, there are a limited number of studies assessing continuation ECT utilization in patients with schizophrenia giving partial response to pharmacological treatment. Objective : The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of continuation ECT in preventing relapse in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Methods : In this retrospective analysis, schizophrenia patients (n = 73 were defined in three groups such as patients who received only AP treatment (only AP, patients who received acute ECT only during hospitalization (aECT+AP, patients who received acute ECT and continuation ECT (a-cECT+AP. Three groups were compared according to positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS scores. Results : As per comparison of only AP group, aECT+AP group and a+cECT+AP groups in terms of after discharge PANSS and after discharge BPRS scores for 1st month, 3rd month and 6th month; 3rd and 6th month’s PANSS scores of a+cECT+AP group were statistically significantly lower than other two groups. Discussion : Although this study suffers the limitations of retrospective medical chart analysis, results suggest that, in patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia who have responded to an acute course of ECT, continuation ECT in combination with antipsychotics is more effective than antipsychotics alone in preventing relapse.

Paranoid Schizophrenia versus Schizoaffective Disorder: Neuropsychological Aspects.

Science.gov (United States)

Leposavić, Ljubica; Leposavić, Ivana; Šaula-Marojević, Bijana; Gavrilović, Predrag

2015-01-01

Neuropsychological aspects of paranoid schizophrenia have still not been examined enough.These disorders are usually not studied separately, but are included in the studies about schizophrenic patients with positive symptoms. Despite the fact that schizophrenia represents a heterogeneous group of mental disorders, usually it is not separated from schizoaffective disorder in neuropsychological researches. The essence of this research is to evaluate cognitive functioning of patients with paranoid schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder by applying neuropsychological tests. The research included 91 subjects, right handed, from 30 to 53 years old, who were classified into three groups: inpatients with paranoid schizophrenia in remission (n=31), inpatients with schizoaffective disorder in remission (n=30) and healthy subjects (n=30). Both groups of patients showed poorer achievements than healthy subjects in most of the applied tests. Patients with schizoaffective disorder showed global loss of intellectual efficiency, executive dysfunction and compromised visual-construction organization. Patients with paranoid schizophrenia expressed partial loss of intellectual efficiency with verbal IQ and executive functions preserved. In the remission phase, patients with paranoid schizophrenia expressed cognitive disorders in moderate degree, but when it comes to patients with schizoaffective disorder, more massive cognitive, deficits were registered.

Antipsychotic medication for early episode schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

Bola, John; Kao, Dennis; Soydan, Haluk; Adams, Clive E

2014-01-01

Background Long-term treatment with antipsychotic medications in early episode schizophrenia spectrum disorders is common, but both short and long-term effects on the illness are unclear. There have been numerous suggestions that people with early episodes of schizophrenia appear to respond differently than those with multiple prior episodes. The number of episodes may moderate response to drug treatment. Objectives To assess the effects of antipsychotic medication treatment on people with early episode schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group register (July 2007) as well as references of included studies. We contacted authors of studies for further data. Selection criteria Studies with a majority of first and second episode schizophrenia spectrum disorders comparing initial antipsychotic medication treatment with placebo, milieu, or psychosocial treatment. Data collection and analysis Working independently, we critically appraised records from 681 studies, of which five studies met inclusion criteria. We calculated risk ratios (RR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) where possible. For continuous data, we calculated mean difference (MD). We calculated numbers needed to treat/harm (NNT/NNH) where appropriate. Main results Five studies (combined total n=998) met inclusion criteria. Four studies (n=724) provided leaving the study early data and results suggested that individuals treated with a typical antipsychotic medication are less likely to leave the study early than those treated with placebo (Chlorpromazine: 3 RCTs n=353, RR 0.4 CI 0.3 to 0.5, NNT 3.2, Fluphenaxine: 1 RCT n=240, RR 0.5 CI 0.3 to 0.8, NNT 5; Thioridazine: 1 RCT n=236, RR 0.44 CI 0.3 to 0.7, NNT 4.3, Trifulperazine: 1 RCT n=94, RR 0.96 CI 0.3 to 3.6). Two studies contributed data to assessment of adverse effects and present a general pattern of more frequent side effects among individuals treated with typical antipsychotic medications

Plasma homovanillic acid in the prodromal phase of schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Sumiyoshi, T; Kurachi, M; Kurokawa, K; Yotsutsuji, T; Uehara, T; Itoh, H; Saitoh, O

2000-03-01

Plasma levels of homovanillic acid (pHVA) have been used as a peripheral measure of central dopaminergic activity. Despite a large body of studies investigating pHVA in schizophrenia, little is known about pHVA in patients in the prodromal phase of the illness. Plasma HVA levels of 12 male outpatients meeting DSM-III-R criteria for the prodromal phase of schizophrenia at the time of blood sampling (who later developed psychotic symptoms) were compared with those of 12 normal male healthy volunteers. Task amounts in the Kraepelin arithmetic test at the time of blood sampling were compared between the prodromal patients and normal controls and were correlated with pHVA levels. The prodromal patients had significantly higher pHVA levels compared with normal control subjects. The mean amount of the arithmetic task for the prodromal patients was significantly less than that for controls. In the patient group, a significant negative correlation was observed between pHVA levels and the task amounts. Data from the present study indicate the presence of dopaminergic dysfunction in the prodromal stage of schizophrenia that is associated with neuropsychological impairment. Increased pHVA levels in the prodromal patients may have implications for early detection of schizophrenia.

California Verbal Learning Test-II performance in schizophrenia as a function of ascertainment strategy: Comparing the first and second phases of the Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS)

OpenAIRE

Stone, WS; Mesholam-Gately, RI; Braff, DL; Calkins, ME; Freedman, R; Green, MF; Greenwood, TA; Gur, RE; Gur, RCC; Lazzeroni, LC; Light, GA; Nuechterlein, KH; Olincy, A; Radant, AD; Siever, LJ

2014-01-01

© 2014. The first phase of the Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS-1) showed performance deficits in learning and memory on the California Verbal Learning Test, Second Edition (CVLT-II) in individuals with schizophrenia (SZ), compared to healthy comparison subjects (HCS). A question is whether the COGS-1 study, which used a family study design (i.e. studying relatively intact families), yielded “milder“ SZ phenotypes than those acquired subsequently in the COGS-2 case-control de...

California verbal learning test-ii performance in schizophrenia as a function of ascertainment strategy: Comparing the first and second phases of the consortium on the genetics of schizophrenia (COGS)

OpenAIRE

Stone, WS; Mesholam-Gately, RI; Braff, DL; Calkins, ME; Freedman, R; Green, MF; Greenwood, TA; Gur, RE; Gur, RC; Lazzeroni, LC; Light, GA; Nuechterlein, KH; Olincy, A; Radant, AD; Siever, LJ

2015-01-01

© 2014. The first phase of the Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS-1) showed performance deficits in learning and memory on the California Verbal Learning Test, Second Edition (CVLT-II) in individuals with schizophrenia (SZ), compared to healthy comparison subjects (HCS). A question is whether the COGS-1 study, which used a family study design (i.e. studying relatively intact families), yielded "milder" SZ phenotypes than those acquired subsequently in the COGS-2 case-control de...

Executive functioning during full and partial remission (positive and negative symptomatic remission) of schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Braw, Yoram; Benozio, Avi; Levkovitz, Yechiel

2012-12-01

Despite the upsurge of research regarding cognitive impairment in schizophrenia we still lack adequate understanding of the executive functioning of patients in symptomatic remission. Moreover, the cognitive functioning of patients in partial remission has not been studied previously although they comprise a significant proportion of schizophrenia patients. The current study therefore examined the executive functioning of patients in full symptomatic remission and for the first time assessed two sub-groups of patients in partial remission. Executive functioning of five groups was compared; symptomatic patients, patients in positive symptomatic remission, negative symptomatic remission, full symptomatic remission (SP, PSR, NSR, and FSR; N=101) and healthy controls (N=37). A graded cognitive profile was evident between the groups. SP patients exhibited widespread executive dysfunction while the performance of FSR patients was comparable to that of the healthy controls. Both PSR and NSR patients had working memory deficits, with PSR patients showing additional deficits in cognitive planning. The findings are encouraging, tentatively suggesting intact executive functioning among patients in full symptomatic remission. The graded cognitive profile of the patient groups strengthens earlier findings indicating the significant role of negative symptoms in determining executive dysfunction in schizophrenia. The findings point toward potential targets for therapeutic efforts and emphasize the need for further research of sub-groups of schizophrenia patients in partial remission. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Obstetric complications as risk factors for schizophrenia spectrum psychoses in offspring of mothers with psychotic disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Suvisaari, Jaana M; Taxell-Lassas, Virpi; Pankakoski, Maiju; Haukka, Jari K; Lönnqvist, Jouko K; Häkkinen, Laura T

2013-09-01

Obstetric complications have predicted future development of schizophrenia in previous studies, but they are also more common in mothers with schizophrenia. The aims of this study were to compare the occurrence of obstetric complications in children of mothers with schizophrenia spectrum psychoses and control children, and to investigate whether obstetric complications predicted children's psychiatric morbidity. The Helsinki High-Risk (HR) Study monitors females born between 1916 and 1948 and treated for schizophrenia spectrum disorders in Helsinki psychiatric hospitals, their offspring born between 1941 and 1977, and controls. We examined information on obstetric complications and neonatal health of 271 HR and 242 control offspring. We compared the frequency of obstetric complications and neonatal health problems in the HR group vs controls and in HR children who later developed psychotic disorders vs healthy HR children. A Cox regression model was used to assess whether problems in pregnancy or delivery predicted psychiatric morbidity within the HR group. Few differences between HR and control offspring were found in obstetric complications. Within the HR group, infections (hazard rate ratio [HRR] 3.73, 95% CI 1.27-11.01), hypertension during pregnancy (HRR 4.10, 95% CI 1.15-14.58), and placental abnormalities (HRR 4.09, 95% CI 1.59-10.49) were associated with elevated risk of schizophrenia spectrum psychoses. Common medical problems during pregnancy were associated with increased risk of schizophrenia spectrum psychoses in offspring of mothers with schizophrenia spectrum psychoses. These results underline the role of the prenatal period in the development of schizophrenia and the importance of careful monitoring of pregnancies of mothers with psychotic disorder.

State-related functional integration and functional segregation brain networks in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Qingbao; Sui, Jing; Kiehl, Kent A; Pearlson, Godfrey; Calhoun, Vince D

2013-11-01

Altered topological properties of brain connectivity networks have emerged as important features of schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to investigate how the state-related modulations to graph measures of functional integration and functional segregation brain networks are disrupted in schizophrenia. Firstly, resting state and auditory oddball discrimination (AOD) fMRI data of healthy controls (HCs) and schizophrenia patients (SZs) were decomposed into spatially independent components (ICs) by group independent component analysis (ICA). Then, weighted positive and negative functional integration (inter-component networks) and functional segregation (intra-component networks) brain networks were built in each subject. Subsequently, connectivity strength, clustering coefficient, and global efficiency of all brain networks were statistically compared between groups (HCs and SZs) in each state and between states (rest and AOD) within group. We found that graph measures of negative functional integration brain network and several positive functional segregation brain networks were altered in schizophrenia during AOD task. The metrics of positive functional integration brain network and one positive functional segregation brain network were higher during the resting state than during the AOD task only in HCs. These findings imply that state-related characteristics of both functional integration and functional segregation brain networks are impaired in schizophrenia which provides new insight into the altered brain performance in this brain disorder. © 2013.

[Schizophrenia and informed consent to research].

Science.gov (United States)

Fovet, T; Amad, A; Thomas, P; Jardri, R

2015-10-01

Informed consent to research remains a complex issue, while sometimes staying difficult to obtain, even in the general population. This problem may be maximized with patients suffering from schizophrenia. This paper summarizes available data in the literature about informed consent for research involving patients suffering from schizophrenia. Medline and Google Scholar searches were conducted using the following MESH terms: schizophrenia, informed consent and research. Studies using dedicated standardized scales (e.g. MacCAT-CR) revealed a decrease in the capacity to consent of patients with schizophrenia when compared with healthy individuals. Keeping in mind that schizophrenia is an heterogeneous disorder, patients with the lowest insight as well as those with the most severe cognitive symptoms appeared more impaired in their capacity to consent. Such a poor capacity to understand and consent to trials was shown linked with alterations in decision-making. For these specific patients, interventions may be set up to increase their capacity to consent. Various strategies were proposed: enhanced consent forms, extended discussion, test/feedback method or multimedia interventions. Among them, interventions relying on communication and the growing field of information technologies (e.g. web-based tools) seem promising. Finally, associations grouping families and patients (like the French Association UNAFAM) may facilitate the involvement of patients in research programs with safer conditions. Patients suffering from schizophrenia appear able to consent to research programs when suitable interventions are proposed. Further studies are now needed to optimize and individualize such interventions. Copyright © 2014 L’Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Interventions to reduce weight gain in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Faulkner, G; Cohn, T; Remington, G

2007-01-24

Weight gain is common for people with schizophrenia and this has serious implications for health and well being. To determine the effects of both pharmacological (excluding medication switching) and non pharmacological strategies for reducing or preventing weight gain in people with schizophrenia. We searched key databases and the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's trials register (April 2006), reference sections within relevant papers, hand searched key journals, and contacted the first author of each relevant study and other experts to collect further information. We included all clinical randomised controlled trials comparing any pharmacological or non pharmacological intervention for weight gain (diet and exercise counselling) with standard care or other treatments for people with schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like illnesses. We reliably selected, quality assessed and extracted data from studies. As weight is a continuous outcome measurement, weighted mean differences (WMD) of the change from baseline were calculated. The primary outcome measure was weight loss. Twenty-three randomised controlled trials met the inclusion criteria for this review. Five trials assessed a cognitive/behavioural intervention and eighteen assessed a pharmacological adjunct. In terms of prevention, two cognitive/behavioural trials showed significant treatment effect (mean weight change) at end of treatment (n=104, 2 RCTs, WMD -3.38 kg CI -4.2 to -2.0). Pharmacological adjunct treatments were significant with a modest prevention of weight gain (n=274, 6 RCTs, WMD - 1.16 kg CI -1.9 to -0.4). In terms of treatments for weight loss, we found significantly greater weight reduction in the cognitive behavioural intervention group (n=129, 3 RCTs, WMD -1.69 kg CI -2.8 to -0.6) compared with standard care. Modest weight loss can be achieved with selective pharmacological and non pharmacological interventions. However, interpretation is limited by the small number of studies, small sample size

Affective experience and motivated behavior in schizophrenia spectrum disorders: Evidence from clinical and nonclinical samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Lui, Simon S Y; Shi, Yan-Fang; Au, Angie C W; Li, Zhi; Tsui, Chi F; Chan, Constance K Y; Leung, Meranda M W; Wong, Peony T Y; Wang, Yi; Yan, Chao; Heerey, Erin A; Cheung, Eric F C; Chan, Raymond C K

2016-09-01

Individuals with schizophrenia have been found to exhibit emotion-behavior decoupling, particularly with respect to anticipated, rather than experienced events. However, previous research has focused on how emotion valence translates into motivated behavior, ignoring the fact that emotion arousal should also modulate emotion-behavior coupling. Few studies have examined emotion-behavior coupling in prepsychotic conditions. This investigation aimed to examine the nature and extent of emotion valence- and arousal-behavior coupling across the schizophrenia spectrum. We examine how emotional valence and arousal couple with behavior in 3 groups of individuals (25 individuals with chronic schizophrenia; 27 individuals early in the disease course, and 31 individuals reporting negative schizotypal symptoms). Participants completed a task using slides to elicit emotion and evoke motivated behavior. We compared participants with their respective matched control groups to determine differences in the correspondence between self-reported emotion valence/arousal and motivated behavior. Both groups with schizophrenia reported similar affective experiences as their controls, whereas individuals reporting negative schizotypal symptoms showed "in-the-moment" anhedonia but not emotion-behavior decoupling. In addition, the schizophrenia groups' affective experiences corresponded less well to their behavior relative to controls. Our findings suggest emotion-behavior decoupling along both valence and arousal dimensions in schizophrenia but not in participants with high levels of schizotypal symptoms. Findings appear to support the idea that emotion-behavior decoupling differs in nature and extent across the schizophrenia spectrum. Interventions to recouple emotion and behavior may be particularly helpful in allowing people with schizophrenia to gain functional independence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Molindone for schizophrenia and severe mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Bagnall, A; Fenton, M; Kleijnen, J; Lewis, R

2007-01-24

Antipsychotic therapy is the mainstay of treatment for people with schizophrenia. In recent years new or atypical antipsychotics have been introduced. These are less likely to produce movement disorders and raise serum prolactin. Researchers have suggested that molindone should be classified as an atypical antipsychotic. To determine the effects of molindone compared with placebo, typical and other atypical antipsychotic drugs for schizophrenia and related psychoses. For the original search we searched the following databases: Biological Abstracts (1980-1999), The Cochrane Library CENTRAL (Issue 1, 1999), The Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Register (January 1999), CINAHL (1982-1999), EMBASE (1980-1999), MEDLINE (1966-1999), LILACS (1982-1999), PSYNDEX (1977-1999), and PsycLIT (1974-1999). We also searched pharmaceutical databases on the Dialog Corporation Datastar and Dialog and the references of all identified studies for further trials. Finally, we contacted the manufacturer of molindone and the authors of any relevant trials. For the update of this review, we searched The Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Trials Register (August 2005). We included all randomised controlled trials that compared molindone to other treatments for schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like psychoses. We extracted data independently and analysed on an intention to treat basis calculating, for binary data, the fixed effect relative risk (RR), their 95% confidence intervals (CI), and the number needed to treat or harm (NNT or NNH). We excluded data if loss to follow up was greater than 50%. We included fourteen studies. Duration ranged from very short (10 days) studies of the intramuscular preparation, to trials lasting over three months. For measures of global assessment, available data do not justify any conclusions on the comparative efficacy of molindone and placebo. When compared to other typical antipsychotics we found no evidence of a difference in effectiveness (doctors' 4 RCTs n=150

[Ultrastructural pathology of oligodendrocytes in the white matter in continuous paranoid schizophrenia: a role for microglia].

Science.gov (United States)

Uranova, N A; Vikhreva, O V; Rakhmanova, V I; Orlovskaya, D D

Previously the authors have reported the ultrastructural pathology and deficit of oligodendrocytes in gray and white matter of the prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia. The aim of the study was to determine of the effects of microglia on the ultrastructure of oligodendrocytes in the white matter underlying the prefrontal cortex in continuous schizophrenia. Postmortem morphometric electron microscopic study of oligodendrocytes in close apposition to microglia was performed in white matter underlying the prefrontal cortex (BA10). Eleven cases of chronic continuous schizophrenia and 11 normal controls were studied. Areas of oligodendrocytes, of their nuclei and cytoplasm, volume density (Vv) and the number of mitochondria, vacuoles of endoplasmic reticulum and lipofuscin granules were estimated. Group comparison was performed using ANCOVA. The schizophrenia group differed from the control group by paucity of ribosomes in the cytoplasm of oligodendrocytes, a significant decrease in Vv and the number of mitochondria and increase in the number of lipofuscin granules. Significant correlations between the parameters of lipofuscin granules, mitochondria and vacuoles were found only in the schizophrenia group. The number of lipofuscin granules were correlated positively with the illness duration. Dystrophic alterations of oligodendrocytes attached to microglial cells were found in the white matter of the prefrontal cortex in chronic paranoid schizophrenia as compared to controls. The data obtained suggest that microglia might contribute to abnormalities of energy, lipid and protein metabolism of oligodendrocytes in schizophrenia.

Differential sensory fMRI signatures in autism and schizophrenia: Analysis of amplitude and trial-to-trial variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Haigh, Sarah M; Gupta, Akshat; Barb, Scott M; Glass, Summer A F; Minshew, Nancy J; Dinstein, Ilan; Heeger, David J; Eack, Shaun M; Behrmann, Marlene

2016-08-01

Autism and schizophrenia share multiple phenotypic and genotypic markers, and there is ongoing debate regarding the relationship of these two disorders. To examine whether cortical dynamics are similar across these disorders, we directly compared fMRI responses to visual, somatosensory and auditory stimuli in adults with autism (N=15), with schizophrenia (N=15), and matched controls (N=15). All participants completed a one-back letter detection task presented at fixation (to control attention) while task-irrelevant sensory stimulation was delivered to the different modalities. We focused specifically on the response amplitudes and the variability in sensory fMRI responses of the two groups, given the evidence of greater trial-to-trial variability in adults with autism. Both autism and schizophrenia individuals showed weaker signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) in sensory-evoked responses compared to controls (d>0.42), but for different reasons. For the autism group, the fMRI response amplitudes were indistinguishable from controls but were more variable trial-to-trial (d=0.47). For the schizophrenia group, response amplitudes were smaller compared to autism (d=0.44) and control groups (d=0.74), but were not significantly more variable (dautism and is not a defining characteristic of schizophrenia, and (2) that blunted response amplitudes may be characteristic of schizophrenia. The relationship between the amplitude and the variability of cortical activity might serve as a specific signature differentiating these neurodevelopmental disorders. Identifying the neural basis of these responses and their relationship to the underlying genetic bases may substantially enlighten the understanding of both disorders. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cortical morphology of adolescents with bipolar disorder and with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Janssen, Joost; Alemán-Gómez, Yasser; Schnack, Hugo; Balaban, Evan; Pina-Camacho, Laura; Alfaro-Almagro, Fidel; Castro-Fornieles, Josefina; Otero, Soraya; Baeza, Inmaculada; Moreno, Dolores; Bargalló, Nuria; Parellada, Mara; Arango, Celso; Desco, Manuel

2014-09-01

Recent evidence points to overlapping decreases in cortical thickness and gyrification in the frontal lobe of patients with adult-onset schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with psychotic symptoms, but it is not clear if these findings generalize to patients with a disease onset during adolescence and what may be the mechanisms underlying a decrease in gyrification. This study analyzed cortical morphology using surface-based morphometry in 92 subjects (age range 11-18 years, 52 healthy controls and 40 adolescents with early-onset first-episode psychosis diagnosed with schizophrenia (n=20) or bipolar disorder with psychotic symptoms (n=20) based on a two year clinical follow up). Average lobar cortical thickness, surface area, gyrification index (GI) and sulcal width were compared between groups, and the relationship between the GI and sulcal width was assessed in the patient group. Both patients groups showed decreased cortical thickness and increased sulcal width in the frontal cortex when compared to healthy controls. The schizophrenia subgroup also had increased sulcal width in all other lobes. In the frontal cortex of the combined patient group sulcal width was negatively correlated (r=-0.58, padolescents with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with psychotic symptoms there is cortical thinning, decreased GI and increased sulcal width of the frontal cortex present at the time of the first psychotic episode. Decreased frontal GI is associated with the widening of the frontal sulci which may reduce sulcal surface area. These results suggest that abnormal growth (or more pronounced shrinkage during adolescence) of the frontal cortex represents a shared endophenotype for psychosis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Transdiagnostic differences in the resting-state functional connectivity of the prefrontal cortex in depression and schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xi; Liu, Chang; He, Hui; Chang, Xin; Jiang, Yuchao; Li, Yingjia; Duan, Mingjun; Li, Jianfu; Luo, Cheng; Yao, Dezhong

2017-08-01

Depression and schizophrenia are two of the most serious psychiatric disorders. They share similar symptoms but the pathology-specific commonalities and differences remain unknown. This study was conducted to acquire a full picture of the functional alterations in schizophrenia and depression patients. The resting-state fMRI data from 20 patients with schizophrenia, 20 patients with depression and 20 healthy control subjects were collected. A data-driven approach that included local functional connectivity density (FCD) analysis combined with multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) was used to compare the three groups. Based on the results of the MVPA, the local FCD value in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) can differentiate depression patients from schizophrenia patients. The patients with depression had a higher local FCD value in the medial and anterior parts of the OFC than the subjects in the other two groups, which suggested altered abstract and reward reinforces processing in depression patients. Subsequent functional connectivity analysis indicated that the connection in the prefrontal cortex was significantly lower in people with schizophrenia compared to people with depression and healthy controls. The systematically different medications for schizophrenia and depression may have different effects on functional connectivity. These results suggested that the resting-state functional connectivity pattern in the prefrontal cortex may be a transdiagnostic difference between depression and schizophrenia patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of the Positive Emotions Program for Schizophrenia (PEPS: an intervention to improve pleasure and motivation in schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra eNguyen

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The efficacy of drug-based treatments and psychological interventions on the primary negative symptoms of schizophrenia remains limited. Recent literature has distinguished negative symptoms associated with a diminished capacity to experience, from those associated with a limited capacity for expression. The Positive Emotions Program for Schizophrenia (PEPS is a new method that specifically aims to reduce the syndrome of a diminished capacity to experience. Methods: The intervention’s vital ingredients were identified through a literature review of emotion in schizophrenia and positive psychology. The program has been beta-tested on various groups of healthcare professionals. Results: A detailed description of the final version of PEPS is presented here. The French version of the program is freely downloadable. Conclusions: PEPS is a specific, short, easy to use, group-based intervention to improve pleasure and motivation in schizophrenia. It was built considering a recovery-oriented approach to schizophrenia.

Decision-making deficits in patients with chronic schizophrenia: Iowa Gambling Task and Prospect Valence Learning model.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Myung-Sun; Kang, Bit-Na; Lim, Jae Young

2016-01-01

Decision-making is the process of forming preferences for possible options, selecting and executing actions, and evaluating the outcome. This study used the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Prospect Valence Learning (PVL) model to investigate deficits in risk-reward related decision-making in patients with chronic schizophrenia, and to identify decision-making processes that contribute to poor IGT performance in these patients. Thirty-nine patients with schizophrenia and 31 healthy controls participated. Decision-making was measured by total net score, block net scores, and the total number of cards selected from each deck of the IGT. PVL parameters were estimated with the Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling scheme in OpenBugs and BRugs, its interface to R, and the estimated parameters were analyzed with the Mann-Whitney U-test. The schizophrenia group received significantly lower total net scores compared to the control group. In terms of block net scores, an interaction effect of group × block was observed. The block net scores of the schizophrenia group did not differ across the five blocks, whereas those of the control group increased as the blocks progressed. The schizophrenia group obtained significantly lower block net scores in the fourth and fifth blocks of the IGT and selected cards from deck D (advantageous) less frequently than the control group. Additionally, the schizophrenia group had significantly lower values on the utility-shape, loss-aversion, recency, and consistency parameters of the PVL model. These results indicate that patients with schizophrenia experience deficits in decision-making, possibly due to failure in learning the expected value of each deck, and incorporating outcome experiences of previous trials into expectancies about options in the present trial.

Effects of sports participation on psychiatric symptoms and brain activations during sports observation in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, H; Sassa, T; Shibuya, T; Kato, M; Koeda, M; Murai, T; Matsuura, M; Asai, K; Suhara, T; Okubo, Y

2012-03-20

Weight gain has been identified as being responsible for increased morbidity and mortality rates of schizophrenia patients. For the management of weight gain, exercise is one of the most acknowledged interventions. At the same time, exercise and sports have been recognized for their positive impact on psychiatric symptoms of schizophrenia. However, the neurobiological basis for this remains poorly understood. We aimed to examine the effect of sports participation on weight gain, psychiatric symptoms and brain activation during sports observation in schizophrenia patients. Thirteen schizophrenia patients who participated in a 3-month program, including sports participation and 10 control schizophrenia patients were studied. In both groups, body mass index (BMI), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and brain activation during observation of sports-related actions measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging were accessed before and after a 3-month interval. BMI and general psychopathology scale of PANSS were significantly reduced in the program group but not in the control group after a 3-month interval. Compared with baseline, activation of the body-selective extrastriate body area (EBA) in the posterior temporal-occipital cortex during observation of sports-related actions was increased in the program group. In this group, increase in EBA activation was associated with improvement in the general psychopathology scale of PANSS. Sports participation had a positive effect not only on weight gain but also on psychiatric symptoms in schizophrenia. EBA might mediate these beneficial effects of sports participation. Our findings merit further investigation of neurobiological mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect of sports for schizophrenia.

Neurocognitive recovery of patients with paranoid schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olena Molchanova

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Background. At present neurocognitive impairment is considered a core feature of schizophrenia. This statement is grounded on cognitive impairment stability, the persistence of cognitive impairment independently of the disease stage and other symptoms of schizophrenia. The relevance of the search for cognitive remediation methods is determined by the influence of cognitive functioning on the functional outcome in patients with schizophrenia. In order to solve this problem, scientists are actively investigating such direction in the treatment of patients with this psychopathology as «neurocognitive therapy» or neurocognitive training. Objective.To evaluate the effectiveness of neurocognitive training in patients with paranoid schizophrenia. Methods and materials. The patients who matched inclusion criteria were assessed on Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS, Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP, neuropsychological tests (Trail Making Test part A and B, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Luria test at the baseline, 1st and 6th month. All patients who were included in the study were randomly assigned into two groups. The intervention group (n=40 underwent a standard supportive treatment and neurocognitive training. The control group (n=31 received supportive medication treatment alone. Results. After 1st month, a statistically significant difference between the intervention and control groups was found both for the overall PANSS score improvement and improvement in several items, which represented the cognitive decline. Total PSP score increased significantly in the intervention group from 41-50 to 51-60 (р=0.0001. In Wisconsin Card Sorting Test the proportion of incorrect answers decreased by 31.4% (р=0.0001, perseverative errors by 20.1% (р=0.042, the number of completed categories increased by 33.5% (р=0.002. Conclusion. The proposed neurocognitive training program showed positive results, which was reflected in a statistically

Cognitive Remediation in Middle-Aged or Older Inpatients with Chronic Schizophrenia: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kee-Hong Choi

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Accumulating evidence indicates that cognitive remediation (CR is effective for improving various cognitive deficits in adult patients with schizophrenia. Although reports of brain plasticity in older adults and the service needs for chronic patients with schizophrenia are increasing, very few randomized controlled trials of CR have been conducted in middle-aged or older inpatients with chronic schizophrenia. We investigated the efficacy of individualized CR on the cognitive impairments of middle-aged or older inpatients with chronic schizophrenia within the context of comprehensive psychiatric rehabilitation (PR by comparing the results obtained with PR only and treatment as usual (TAU.Method: Fifty-seven middle-aged and older individuals with chronic schizophrenia and mild to moderate cognitive deficits were enrolled. Thirty-eight who were undergoing PR were randomly assigned to CR + PR (N = 19 or PR-only (N = 19 groups. Nineteen participants who were undergoing TAU without CR or PR were evaluated pre- and post-treatment.Results: CR was easily provided and well received (drop-out rates = 5.3% by middle-aged or older psychiatric inpatients. Compared to the PR-Only or TAU patients, patients in the CR + PR group showed greater improvement in executive functioning. Compared to TAU patients, CR + PR and PR-only patients showed greater improvement in logical memory. More patients in the CR + PR group improved clinically significantly in executive functioning and logical memory, compared with the PR-only and TAU patients.Conclusions: These results suggested that CR improved some cognitive deficits in middle-aged or older inpatients with chronic schizophrenia and that it was effective as an adjunctive treatment to the usual PR services provided in inpatient settings.Clinical Registration: KCT0002609

Influence of contact with schizophrenia on implicit attitudes towards schizophrenia patients held by clinical residents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Omori Ataru

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Patients with schizophrenia and their families have suffered greatly from stigmatizing effects. Although many efforts have been made to eradicate both prejudice and stigma, they still prevail even among medical professionals, and little is known about how contact with schizophrenia patients affects their attitudes towards schizophrenia. Methods We assessed the impact of the renaming of the Japanese term for schizophrenia on clinical residents and also evaluated the influence of contact with schizophrenia patients on attitudes toward schizophrenia by comparing the attitudes toward schizophrenia before and after a one-month clinical training period in psychiatry. Fifty-one clinical residents participated. Their attitudes toward schizophrenia were assessed twice, before and one month after clinical training in psychiatry using the Implicit Association Test (IAT as well as Link’s devaluation-discrimination scale. Results The old term for schizophrenia, “Seishin-Bunretsu-Byo”, was more congruent with criminal than the new term for schizophrenia, “Togo-Shitcho-Sho”, before clinical training. However, quite opposite to our expectation, after clinical training the new term had become even more congruent with criminal than the old term. There was no significant correlation between Link's scale and IAT effect. Conclusions Renaming the Japanese term for schizophrenia still reduced the negative images of schizophrenia among clinical residents. However, contact with schizophrenia patients unexpectedly changed clinical residents’ attitudes towards schizophrenia negatively. Our results might contribute to an understanding of the formation of negative attitudes about schizophrenia and assist in developing appropriate clinical training in psychiatry that could reduce prejudice and stigma concerning schizophrenia.

No Evidence That Schizophrenia Candidate Genes Are More Associated With Schizophrenia Than Noncandidate Genes.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Emma C; Border, Richard; Melroy-Greif, Whitney E; de Leeuw, Christiaan A; Ehringer, Marissa A; Keller, Matthew C

2017-11-15

A recent analysis of 25 historical candidate gene polymorphisms for schizophrenia in the largest genome-wide association study conducted to date suggested that these commonly studied variants were no more associated with the disorder than would be expected by chance. However, the same study identified other variants within those candidate genes that demonstrated genome-wide significant associations with schizophrenia. As such, it is possible that variants within historic schizophrenia candidate genes are associated with schizophrenia at levels above those expected by chance, even if the most-studied specific polymorphisms are not. The present study used association statistics from the largest schizophrenia genome-wide association study conducted to date as input to a gene set analysis to investigate whether variants within schizophrenia candidate genes are enriched for association with schizophrenia. As a group, variants in the most-studied candidate genes were no more associated with schizophrenia than were variants in control sets of noncandidate genes. While a small subset of candidate genes did appear to be significantly associated with schizophrenia, these genes were not particularly noteworthy given the large number of more strongly associated noncandidate genes. The history of schizophrenia research should serve as a cautionary tale to candidate gene investigators examining other phenotypes: our findings indicate that the most investigated candidate gene hypotheses of schizophrenia are not well supported by genome-wide association studies, and it is likely that this will be the case for other complex traits as well. Copyright © 2017 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Theory of mind in women with borderline personality disorder or schizophrenia: differences in overall ability and error patterns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anja eVaskinn

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Although borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia are notably different mental disorders, they share problems in social cognition – or understanding the feelings, intentions and thoughts of other people. To date no studies have directly compared the social cognitive abilities of individuals with these two disorders. In this study, the social cognitive subdomain theory of mind was investigated in females with borderline personality disorder (n = 25, females with schizophrenia (n = 25 and healthy females (n = 25. An ecologically valid video-based measure (Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition was used. For the overall score, females with schizophrenia performed markedly below both healthy females and females with borderline personality disorder, whereas females with borderline personality disorder did not perform significantly different compared to the healthy control group. A statistically significant error type x group interaction effect indicated that the groups differed with respect to kind of errors. Whereas females with borderline personality disorder made mostly overmentalizing errors, females with schizophrenia in addition committed undermentalizing errors. Our study suggests different magnitude and pattern of social cognitive problems in borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia.

Similar verbal memory impairments in schizophrenia and healthy aging. Implications for understanding of neural mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Silver, Henry; Bilker, Warren B

2015-03-30

Memory is impaired in schizophrenia patients but it is not clear whether this is specific to the illness and whether different types of memory (verbal and nonverbal) or memories in different cognitive domains (executive, object recognition) are similarly affected. To study relationships between memory impairments and schizophrenia we compared memory functions in 77 schizophrenia patients, 58 elderly healthy individuals and 41 young healthy individuals. Tests included verbal associative and logical memory and memory in executive and object recognition domains. We compared relationships of memory functions to each other and to other cognitive functions including psychomotor speed and verbal and spatial working memory. Compared to the young healthy group, schizophrenia patients and elderly healthy individuals showed similar severe impairment in logical memory and in the ability to learn new associations (NAL), and similar but less severe impairment in spatial working memory and executive and object memory. Verbal working memory was significantly more impaired in schizophrenia patients than in the healthy elderly. Verbal episodic memory impairment in schizophrenia may share common mechanisms with similar impairment in healthy aging. Impairment in verbal working memory in contrast may reflect mechanisms specific to schizophrenia. Study of verbal explicit memory impairment tapped by the NAL index may advance understanding of abnormal hippocampus dependent mechanisms common to schizophrenia and aging. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cognitive psychopathology in Schizophrenia: Comparing memory performances with Obsessive-compulsive disorder patients and normal subjects on the Wechsler Memory Scale-IV.

Science.gov (United States)

Cammisuli, Davide Maria; Sportiello, Marco Timpano

2016-06-01

Memory system turns out to be one of the cognitive domains most severely impaired in schizophrenia. Within the theoretical framework of cognitive psychopathology, we compared the performance of schizophrenia patients on the Wechsler Memory Scale-IV with that in matched patients with Obsessive-compulsive disorder and that in healthy control subjects to establish the specific nature of memory deficits in schizophrenia. 30 schizophrenia patients, 30 obsessive-compulsive disorder patients and 40 healthy controls completed the Wechsler Memory Scale-IV. Schizophrenia symptom severity was assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Performances on memory battery including Indexes and subtests scores were compared by a One-Way ANOVA (Scheffé post-hoc test). Spearman Rank correlations were performed between scores on PANSS subscales and symptoms and WMS-IV Indexes and subtests, respectively. Schizophrenia patients showed a memory profile characterized by mild difficulties in auditory memory and visual working memory and poor functioning of visual, immediate and delayed memory. As expected, schizophrenia patients scored lower than healthy controls on all WMS-IV measures. With regard to the WMS-IV Indexes, schizophrenia patients performed worse on Auditory Memory, Visual Memory, Immediate and Delayed Memory than Obsessive-compulsive disorder patients but not on Visual Working Memory. Such a pattern was made even clearer for specific tasks such as immediate and delayed recall and spatial recall and memory for visual details, as revealed by the lowest scores on Logical Memory (immediate and delayed conditions) and Designs (immediate condition) subtests, respectively. Significant negative correlations between Logical Memory I and II were found with PANSS Excitement symptom as well as between DE I and PANSS Tension symptom. Significant positive correlations between LM II and PANSS Blunted affect and Poor rapport symptoms as well as DE I and PANSS Blunted affect

Longitudinal volume changes of the pituitary gland in patients with schizotypal disorder and first-episode schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Tsutomu; Zhou, Shi-Yu; Nakamura, Kazue; Tanino, Ryoichiro; Furuichi, Atsushi; Kido, Mikio; Kawasaki, Yasuhiro; Noguchi, Kyo; Seto, Hikaru; Kurachi, Masayoshi; Suzuki, Michio

2011-01-15

An enlarged volume of the pituitary gland has been reported in the schizophrenia spectrum, possibly reflecting the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) hyperactivity. However, it remains largely unknown whether the pituitary size longitudinally changes in the course of the spectrum disorders. In the present study, longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were obtained from 18 patients with first-episode schizophrenia, 13 patients with schizotypal disorder, and 20 healthy controls. The pituitary volume was measured at baseline and follow-up (mean, 2.7 years) scans and was compared across groups. The pituitary volume was larger in the schizophrenia patients than controls at baseline, and both patient groups had significantly larger pituitary volume than controls at follow-up. In a longitudinal comparison, both schizophrenia (3.6%/year) and schizotypal (2.7%/year) patients showed significant pituitary enlargement compared with controls (-1.8%/year). In the schizophrenia patients, greater pituitary enlargement over time was associated with less improvement of delusions and higher scores for thought disorders at the follow-up. These findings suggest that the pituitary gland exhibits ongoing volume changes during the early course of the schizophrenia spectrum as a possible marker of state-related impairments. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Zotepine versus other atypical antipsychotics for schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

Subramanian, Selvizhi; Rummel-Kluge, Christine; Hunger, Heike; Schmid, Franziska; Schwarz, Sandra; Kissling, Werner; Leucht, Stefan; Komossa, Katja

2014-01-01

Background In many parts of the world, particularly in industrialised countries, second generation (atypical) antipsychotic drugs have become first line treatment for people suffering from schizophrenia. The question as to whether the effects of various second generation antipsychotic drugs differ is a matter of debate. Objectives To evaluate the effects of zotepine compared with other second generation antipsychotic drugs for people suffering from schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like psychoses. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group Trials Register (November 2009), inspected references of all identified studies for further trials and contacted authors of trials for additional information. Selection criteria We included only randomised clinical controlled trials that compared zotepine with any forms of amisulpride, aripiprazole, clozapine, olanzapine, risperidone, sertindole or ziprasidone in people suffering from only schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like psychoses. Data collection and analysis SS and KK extracted data independently. For dichotomous data we calculated relative risks (RR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) on an intention-to-treat basis based on a random-effects model. For continuous data, we calculated weighted mean differences (MD) again based on a random-effects model. Main results We included three studies (total n=289; 2 RCTs zotepine vs clozapine; 1 RCT zotepine vs clozapine vs risperidone (at 4 mg, 8 mg doses) vs remoxipride. All studies were of limited methodological quality. When zotepine was compared with clozapine, it was clozapine that was found to be more effective in terms of global state (n=59, 1 RCT, RR No clinically significant response 8.23 CI 1.14 to 59.17). Mental state scores also favoured clozapine (n=59, 1 RCT, MD average score (BPRS total, high = poor) 6.00 CI 2.17 to 9.83) and there was less use of antiparkinson medication in the clozapine group (n=116, 2 RCTs, RR 20.96 CI 2.89 to 151.90). In the

Clinical characteristics and premorbid variables in childhood-onset schizophrenia: a descriptive study of twelve cases from a schizophrenia founder population.

Science.gov (United States)

Maydell, R J; van der Walt, C; Roos, J L; Scribante, L; Ladikos, A

2009-05-01

To analyze clinical and demographic data of childhood-onset (12 years and younger) schizophrenia patients collected for a genetic study in schizophrenia, undertaken nationally in South Africa, using multiple parameters. Patients with an onset of schizophrenia at 12 years or younger, were included. From the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies (DIGS), patients' information and summary report data was tabulated and analyzed. Specific subgroups were further compared. This sub-population of 12 subjects was further compared with a group of the adult sample. Of the 12 patients recruited, prominent results were: male to female ratio of 1:1; all had insidious onset of psychosis; a third had all 3 multidimensional impairment (MDI) symptoms; all patients that received ADHD treatment had ADHD treatment failure; two thirds had milestone delay; 58% had birth complications; a third were predominantly bottle fed; 42% had family history of schizophrenia; a third had family history of other major psychiatric conditions; all patients had at least one non-psychotic deviant behaviour (NPDB); no patient used cannabis; all delusions were paranoid; 92% had school achievement difficulty and a third had treatment resistance. Gender comparison included: earlier onset of psychosis in females; all females had aggression versus a third of males; more females had school achievement difficulty than males; males had more treatment resistance. Patients with MDI, compared to the sample average had: earlier onset of non-psychotic deviant behaviour; lower school drop-out rate; less social difficulty and no treatment resistance. The results compare well to previous research on this topic. The new concepts introduced by the present study require further investigation.

Paranoid schizophrenia versus schizoaffective disorder: Neuropsychological aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leposavić Ljubica

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Neuropsychological aspects of paranoid schizophrenia have still not been examined enough. These disorders are usually not studied separately, but are included in the studies about schizophrenic patients with positive symptoms. Despite the fact that schizophrenia represents a heterogeneous group of mental disorders, usually it is not separated from schizoaffective disorder in neuropsychological researches. Objective. The essence of this research is to evaluate cognitive functioning of patients with paranoid schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder by applying neuropsychological tests. Methods. The research included 91 subjects, right handed, from 30 to 53 years old, who were classified into three groups: inpatients with paranoid schizophrenia in remission (n=31, inpatients with schizoaffective disorder in remission (n=30 and healthy subjects (n=30. Results. Both groups of patients showed poorer achievements than healthy subjects in most of the applied tests. Patients with schizoaffective disorder showed global loss of intellectual efficiency, executive dysfunction and compromised visual-construction organization. Patients with paranoid schizophrenia expressed partial loss of intellectual efficiency with verbal IQ and executive functions preserved. Conclusion. In the remission phase, patients with paranoid schizophrenia expressed cognitive disorders in moderate degree, but when it comes to patients with schizoaffective disorder, more massive cognitive deficits were registered.

An investigation into the drivers of avolition in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Suri, Gaurav; Lavaysse, Lindsey M; Young, Gerald; Moodie, Craig; Tersakyan, Alen; Gross, James J; Gard, David E

2018-03-01

Over a century of research has documented that avolition is a core symptom in schizophrenia. However, the drivers of avolition remain unclear. Conceptually, there are at least two potential mutually compatible drivers that could cause avolition in schizophrenia. First, people with schizophrenia might have differences in preferences that result in less goal-directed behavior than non-clinical populations (preference-differences). Second, people with schizophrenia might have difficulty translating their preferences into manifest behavior at rates similar to non-clinical populations (psychological-inertia). In the present work, we modified and validated a well-validated paradigm from the motivation/decision making literature to compare levels of preference-differences and psychological-inertia. To measure preference-differences, people with and without schizophrenia choose between a lower-valenced and higher-valenced image. We measured the rate at which the normatively lower-valenced image was preferred. To measure psychological-inertia, both groups were given the opportunity to volitionally switch from a lower-valenced image and view a higher-valenced image. Contrary to expectations, people with schizophrenia did not differ on either preference-differences or psychological-inertia. Statistical analysis revealed that the possibility of a Type II error for even a weak effect was small. The present data suggest new avenues for research investigating mechanisms underlying avolition and clinical interventions targeting avolition in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Development and Effects of a Cognitive-behavioral Therapy Based Program in Reducing Internalized Stigma in Patients with Schizophrenia].

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Mi Young; Jun, Seong Sook

2016-06-01

This study was done to develop a internalized stigma reducing program based on cognitive-behavioral therapy and appropriate for patients with schizophrenia and to evaluate its effectiveness. The study design was a mixed method research. Qualitative study, 13 patients with schizophrenia who had experience in overcoming stigma were purposively chosen for interviews and data were analyzed using Giorgi method. Quantitative study, 64 patients with schizophrenia (experimental group=32, control group=32) were recruited. The cognitive-behavioral therapy-based program for reducing internalized stigma in patients with schizophrenia was provided for 8 weeks (12 sessions). Data were collected from June. 20, 2013 to Feb. 14, 2014. Quantitative data were analyzed using χ²-test, t-test, repeated measures ANOVA with the SPSS program. Qualitative results, from the experience of coping with stigma in patients with schizophrenia seventeen themes and five themes-clusters were drawn up. Quantitative results showed that internalized stigma, self-esteem, mental health recovery and quality of life were significantly better in the experimental group compared to the control group. Study findings indicate that this program for reducing internalized stigma in patients with schizophrenia is effective and can be recommended as a rehabilitation program intervention to help patients with schizophrenia to cope with internalized stigma.

Rare Genome-Wide Copy Number Variation and Expression of Schizophrenia in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Bassett, Anne S; Lowther, Chelsea; Merico, Daniele; Costain, Gregory; Chow, Eva W C; van Amelsvoort, Therese; McDonald-McGinn, Donna; Gur, Raquel E; Swillen, Ann; Van den Bree, Marianne; Murphy, Kieran; Gothelf, Doron; Bearden, Carrie E; Eliez, Stephan; Kates, Wendy; Philip, Nicole; Sashi, Vandana; Campbell, Linda; Vorstman, Jacob; Cubells, Joseph; Repetto, Gabriela M; Simon, Tony; Boot, Erik; Heung, Tracy; Evers, Rens; Vingerhoets, Claudia; van Duin, Esther; Zackai, Elaine; Vergaelen, Elfi; Devriendt, Koen; Vermeesch, Joris R; Owen, Michael; Murphy, Clodagh; Michaelovosky, Elena; Kushan, Leila; Schneider, Maude; Fremont, Wanda; Busa, Tiffany; Hooper, Stephen; McCabe, Kathryn; Duijff, Sasja; Isaev, Karin; Pellecchia, Giovanna; Wei, John; Gazzellone, Matthew J; Scherer, Stephen W; Emanuel, Beverly S; Guo, Tingwei; Morrow, Bernice E; Marshall, Christian R

2017-11-01

Chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) is associated with a more than 20-fold increased risk for developing schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to identify additional genetic factors (i.e., "second hits") that may contribute to schizophrenia expression. Through an international consortium, the authors obtained DNA samples from 329 psychiatrically phenotyped subjects with 22q11.2DS. Using a high-resolution microarray platform and established methods to assess copy number variation (CNV), the authors compared the genome-wide burden of rare autosomal CNV, outside of the 22q11.2 deletion region, between two groups: a schizophrenia group and those with no psychotic disorder at age ≥25 years. The authors assessed whether genes overlapped by rare CNVs were overrepresented in functional pathways relevant to schizophrenia. Rare CNVs overlapping one or more protein-coding genes revealed significant between-group differences. For rare exonic duplications, six of 19 gene sets tested were enriched in the schizophrenia group; genes associated with abnormal nervous system phenotypes remained significant in a stepwise logistic regression model and showed significant interactions with 22q11.2 deletion region genes in a connectivity analysis. For rare exonic deletions, the schizophrenia group had, on average, more genes overlapped. The additional rare CNVs implicated known (e.g., GRM7, 15q13.3, 16p12.2) and novel schizophrenia risk genes and loci. The results suggest that additional rare CNVs overlapping genes outside of the 22q11.2 deletion region contribute to schizophrenia risk in 22q11.2DS, supporting a multigenic hypothesis for schizophrenia. The findings have implications for understanding expression of psychotic illness and herald the importance of whole-genome sequencing to appreciate the overall genomic architecture of schizophrenia.

Role of 108 schizophrenia-associated loci in modulating psychopathological dimensions in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Fabbri, Chiara; Serretti, Alessandro

2017-10-01

The Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) identified 108 loci associated with schizophrenia, but their role in modulating specific psychopathological dimensions of the disease is unknown. This study investigated which symptom dimensions may be affected by these loci in schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Positive, negative and depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, cognition, violent behaviors, quality of life, and early onset were investigated in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder using the clinical antipsychotic trials of intervention effectiveness (CATIE) and systematic treatment enhancement program for bipolar disorder (STEP-BD) studies. Individual loci were investigated, then genes within 50 Kbp from polymorphisms with p schizophrenia-associated variant (rs75059851) may modulate negative symptoms. Multi-locus models may provide interesting insights about the biological mechanisms that mediate psychopathological dimensions. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Neuropsychology and emotion processing in violent individuals with antisocial personality disorder or schizophrenia: The same or different? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sedgwick, Ottilie; Young, Susan; Baumeister, David; Greer, Ben; Das, Mrigendra; Kumari, Veena

2017-12-01

To assess whether there are shared or divergent (a) cognitive and (b) emotion processing characteristics among violent individuals with antisocial personality disorder and/or schizophrenia, diagnoses which are commonly encountered at the interface of mental disorder and violence. Cognition and emotion processing are incorporated into models of violence, and thus an understanding of these characteristics within and between disorder groups may help inform future models and therapeutic targets. Relevant databases (OVID, Embase, PsycINFO) were searched to identify suitable literature. Meta-analyses comparing cognitive function in violent schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder to healthy controls were conducted. Neuropsychological studies not comparing these groups to healthy controls, and emotion processing studies, were evaluated qualitatively. Meta-analyses indicated lower IQ, memory and executive function in both violent schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder groups compared to healthy controls. The degree of deficit was consistently larger in violent schizophrenia. Both antisocial personality disorder and violent schizophrenia groups had difficulties in aspects of facial affect recognition, although theory of mind results were less conclusive. Psychopathic traits related positively to experiential emotion deficits across the two disorders. Very few studies explored comorbid violent schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder despite this being common in clinical practice. There are qualitatively similar, but quantitatively different, neuropsychological and emotion processing deficits in violent individuals with schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder which could be developed into transdiagnostic treatment targets for violent behaviour. Future research should aim to characterise specific subgroups of violent offenders, including those with comorbid diagnoses.

Are there differential deficits in facial emotion recognition between paranoid and non-paranoid schizophrenia? A signal detection analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Charles Lung-Cheng; Hsiao, Sigmund; Hwu, Hai-Gwo; Howng, Shen-Long

2013-10-30

This study assessed facial emotion recognition abilities in subjects with paranoid and non-paranoid schizophrenia (NPS) using signal detection theory. We explore the differential deficits in facial emotion recognition in 44 paranoid patients with schizophrenia (PS) and 30 non-paranoid patients with schizophrenia (NPS), compared to 80 healthy controls. We used morphed faces with different intensities of emotion and computed the sensitivity index (d') of each emotion. The results showed that performance differed between the schizophrenia and healthy controls groups in the recognition of both negative and positive affects. The PS group performed worse than the healthy controls group but better than the NPS group in overall performance. Performance differed between the NPS and healthy controls groups in the recognition of all basic emotions and neutral faces; between the PS and healthy controls groups in the recognition of angry faces; and between the PS and NPS groups in the recognition of happiness, anger, sadness, disgust, and neutral affects. The facial emotion recognition impairment in schizophrenia may reflect a generalized deficit rather than a negative-emotion specific deficit. The PS group performed worse than the control group, but better than the NPS group in facial expression recognition, with differential deficits between PS and NPS patients. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pragmatic Ability Deficit in Schizophrenia and Associated Theory of Mind and Executive Function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoming Li

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Deficits in pragmatic abilities have frequently been observed in patients with schizophrenia. The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between pragmatic deficits, ToM deficits and executive dysfunctions in schizophrenia. A group of 42 schizophrenic patients and 42 healthy controls were assessed on irony task (one type of pragmatic language, two subcomponents of ToM (cognitive and affective, and three subcomponents of EF (inhibition, updating, and switching. The clinical symptoms in schizophrenia were assessed using the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. The schizophrenia group exhibited significant impairments in all above tasks compared to the control group. Correlation results found that irony scores were correlated with the two subcomponents of ToM and two of the three subcomponents of EF (inhibition and updating. The regression analysis revealed that the cognitive ToM and inhibition predicted 9.2% and 29.9% of the variance of irony comprehension in the patient group, and inhibition was the best predictor for performance on irony task. Irony understanding was related to positive symptoms, but not to negative symptoms. The results suggest that the ability to interpret pragmatic language depends on schizophrenic patients’ ability to infer mental states and the ability of inhibition. It provides empirical evidence for a particular target of inhibition for rehabilitation and intervention programs developed for schizophrenic patients.

Homoeopathic management of Schizophrenia: A prospective, non-comparative, open-label observational study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Praveen Oberai

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To evaluate the usefulness of homoeopathic intervention in Schizophrenia, in untreated cases and antipsychotic treatment resistant cases, to verify indications of medicines, and to assess relapse, if any. Materials and Methods: A prospective, non-comparative, open-label observational study was carried out from October 2005-September 2010 by CCRH at Central Research Institute (H, Kottayam, Kerala, India. Patients between 20 and 60 years of age, presenting with symptoms of Schizophrenia were screened for inclusion and exclusion criteria. The patients who were on antipsychotic drugs were allowed to continue the same along with homoeopathic medicine, the dose of antipsychotics was monitored by the Psychiatrist. The symptoms of each patient were repertorized, and medicine was initially prescribed in 30C potency after consulting Materia Medica. Patients were followed up for 12 months. Outcome of treatment was assessed with Brief Psychiatric Rating Scales (BPRS. Analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences  SPSS Version 20.0. Results: Out of 188 enrolled patients, 17 cases did not complete the baseline information. Total 171 patients were analysed as per modified Intention to Treat Principle. Significant difference (P = 0.0001, P < 0.05 in the mean scores of BPRS, using paired t test was observed at end of the study. Sulphur, Lycopodium, Natrum muriaticum, Pulsatilla and Phosphorus were found to be the most useful medicines in treating schizophrenic patients. Conclusion: The study reflects the positive role of homoeopathic medicines in the management of patients suffering from schizophrenia as measured by BPRS.

Verbal memory impairments in schizophrenia associated with cortical thinning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Guimond

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Verbal memory (VM represents one of the most affected cognitive domains in schizophrenia. Multiple studies have shown that schizophrenia is associated with cortical abnormalities, but it remains unclear whether these are related to VM impairments. Considering the vast literature demonstrating the role of the frontal cortex, the parahippocampal cortex, and the hippocampus in VM, we examined the cortical thickness/volume of these regions. We used a categorical approach whereby 27 schizophrenia patients with ‘moderate to severe’ VM impairments were compared to 23 patients with ‘low to mild’ VM impairments and 23 healthy controls. A series of between-group vertex-wise GLM on cortical thickness were performed for specific regions of interest defining the parahippocampal gyrus and the frontal cortex. When compared to healthy controls, patients with ‘moderate to severe’ VM impairments revealed significantly thinner cortex in the left frontal lobe, and the parahippocampal gyri. When compared to patients with ‘low to mild’ VM impairments, patients with ‘moderate to severe’ VM impairments showed a trend of thinner cortex in similar regions. Virtually no differences were observed in the frontal area of patients with ‘low to mild’ VM impairments relative to controls. No significant group differences were observed in the hippocampus. Our results indicate that patients with greater VM impairments demonstrate significant cortical thinning in regions known to be important in VM performance. Treating VM deficits in schizophrenia could have a positive effect on the brain; thus, subgroups of patients with more severe VM deficits should be a prioritized target in the development of new cognitive treatments.

Anxious and avoidant attachment styles and indicators of recovery in schizophrenia: associations with self-esteem and hope.

Science.gov (United States)

Ringer, Jamie M; Buchanan, Erin E; Olesek, Kyle; Lysaker, Paul H

2014-06-01

Having an insecure attachment style in schizophrenia has been linked to treatment response and symptom severity in schizophrenia. This study sought to further examine whether attachment style is related to subjective indicators of recovery including hope and self-esteem, independent of symptom level and secondly, whether attachment style in schizophrenia differs from attachment style of persons facing adversity in the form of a prolonged non-psychiatric medical illness. Participants were 52 men with schizophrenia, and 26 with HIV/AIDS who had no history of experiencing severe mental illness. These groups were compared in terms of their endorsement of attachment style. All participants were administered the Experiences in Close Relationships measure of adult attachment style. The schizophrenia group was also given the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale to assess self-esteem, the Beck Hopelessness Scale as a measure of hope, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, as an assessment of symptoms. Avoidant attachment in the schizophrenia group was linked with higher levels of hopelessness while anxious attachment was linked to lower levels of self-esteem. The association between anxious attachment and self-esteem persisted after controlling for severity of positive, negative, and depressive symptoms in a stepwise multiple regression analyses. Compared to the HIV/AIDS group, participants with schizophrenia had significantly higher levels of anxious attachment but not avoidant attachment style. Attachment style may impact attainment of key subjective domains of recovery in schizophrenia such as self-esteem, independent of symptom severity. If self-esteem and/or hopelessness are identified as a focus of treatment, focusing on attachment style may be an important treatment component. Therapist understanding of patients' attachment style may allow for a better understanding of resistance in the therapeutic relationship. Helping persons with schizophrenia to recognize and

The role of ethnicity in treatment refractory schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Teo, Celine; Borlido, Carol; Kennedy, James L; De Luca, Vincenzo

2013-02-01

The goal of this research was to describe the relationship between treatment resistant schizophrenia, defined using the APA criteria and ethnic background in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in a Canadian sample. A secondary goal was to analyze the number of antipsychotics failed due to side effects and number of antipsychotics failed due to non-response. We included 497 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders using the SCID. The medication history was extracted from the electronic health records. Data collection included demographics (sex, age, ethnicity), principal diagnosis according to SCID (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition), duration of mental illness, number of psychiatric admissions and treatment information. If patients were on clozapine or polypharmacy treatment, this was recorded at the time of the SCID interview. Additional data, including prior antipsychotic history, were collected from the health records. Thirty per cent of the patients were classified as resistant according to the APA criteria. There were significantly more white European subjects in the treatment resistant group (p=0.031). The duration of illness was significantly higher in the resistant group then in the non-resistant group (21.0 vs 15.1 years; p<0.001). Patients who were treatment resistant were more likely to be on polypharmacy compared with non-resistant patients (p=0.001; OR=2.424; 95%CI=1.446-4.065). When we considered the number of drug trials failed due to non response and drug trial failed because of side effects, we found a strong negative correlation in both white Europeans and non-white Europeans. White European ethnicity is associated with treatment resistant schizophrenia. In addition, patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia were on polypharmacy at higher rate than non resistant patients. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance in patients with schizophrenia, before and after antipsychotic treatment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rayees Ahmad Wani

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Treatment with antipsychotics increases the risk of developing diabetes in patients of schizophrenia but this diabetogenic potential of different antipsychotics seems to be different. Moreover, there may be an independent link between schizophrenia and diabetes. So we plan to study the prevalence of glucose dysregulation in patients of schizophrenia before and after treatment with various antipsychotics. Materials and Methods: Fifty patients (32 males and 18 females diagnosed with schizophrenia were evaluated for glucose dysregulation using oral glucose tolerance test, initially (drug naive and after antipsychotic treatment. Age- and sex-matched healthy volunteer group of 50 subjects (35 males and 15 females was taken for comparison. Results were interpreted using American Diabetic Association criteria. Results: Though the glycemic status of the patient group was comparable with healthy controls initially but antipsychotic treatment was associated with glucose dysregulation. For first 6 weeks the antipsychotic (olanzapine, risperidone, haloperidol and aripiprazole-induced glucose dysregulation was comparable, which was seen to be maximum with the olanzapine-treated group at the end of this study, 14 weeks. Conclusion: We conclude that antipsychotic treatment of nondiabetic drug naive schizophrenia patients was associated with adverse effects on glucose regulation. For initial 6 weeks the antipsychotic-induced glucose dysregulation was comparable, which was seen to be maximum with olanzapine at the end of study, i.e. 14 weeks. Keeping this at the back of mind we can stabilize a patient initially with a more effective drug, olanzapine, and later on shift to one with less metabolic side effects.

Social priming increases nonverbal expressive behaviors in schizophrenia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan Del-Monte

Full Text Available Semantic priming tasks are classically used to influence and implicitly promote target behaviors. Recently, several studies have demonstrated that prosocial semantic priming modulated feelings of social affiliation. The main aim of this study was to determine whether inducing feelings of social affiliation using priming tasks could modulate nonverbal social behaviors in schizophrenia. We used the Scrambled Sentence Task to prime schizophrenia patients according to three priming group conditions: pro-social, non-social or anti-social. Forty-five schizophrenia patients, diagnosed according to DSM-IV-TR, were randomly assigned to one of the three priming groups of 15 participants. We evaluated nonverbal social behaviors using the Motor-Affective subscale of the Motor-Affective-Social-Scale. Results showed that schizophrenia patients with pro-social priming had significantly more nonverbal behaviors than schizophrenia patients with anti-social and non-social priming conditions. Schizophrenia patient behaviors are affected by social priming. Our results have several clinical implications for the rehabilitation of social skills impairments frequently encountered among individuals with schizophrenia.

Abnormal N400 Semantic Priming Effect May Reflect Psychopathological Processes in Schizophrenia: A Twin Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anuradha Sharma

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. Activation of semantic networks is indexed by the N400 effect. We used a twin study design to investigate whether N400 effect abnormalities reflect genetic/trait liability or are related to psychopathological processes in schizophrenia. Methods. We employed robust linear regression to compare N400 and behavioral priming effects across 36 monozygotic twin pairs (6 pairs concordant for schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder, 11 discordant pairs, and 19 healthy control pairs performing a lexical decision task. Moreover, we examined the correlation between Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS score and the N400 effect and the influence of medication status on this effect. Results. Regression yielded a significant main effect of group on the N400 effect only in the direct priming condition (p=0.003. Indirect condition and behavioral priming effect showed no significant effect of group. Planned contrasts with the control group as a reference group revealed that affected concordant twins had significantly reduced N400 effect compared to controls, and discordant affected twins had a statistical trend for reduced N400 effect compared to controls. The unaffected twins did not differ significantly from the controls. There was a trend for correlation between reduced N400 effect and higher BPRS scores, and the N400 effect did not differ significantly between medicated and unmedicated patients. Conclusions. Reduced N400 effect may reflect disease-specific processes in schizophrenia implicating frontotemporal brain network in schizophrenia pathology.

Are patients with schizophrenia rational maximizers? Evidence from an ultimatum game study.

Science.gov (United States)

Csukly, Gábor; Polgár, Patrícia; Tombor, László; Réthelyi, János; Kéri, Szabolcs

2011-05-15

Schizophrenia is associated with impaired social cognition and community functioning. Social decision-making strategies of healthy controls and patients with schizophrenia were compared by using the ultimatum game (UG). In this game two players have to split a sum of money. The proposer offers a portion to the responder, who decides to either accept or reject the offer. Rejection results in no income to either of the parties. Unfair proposals are frequently rejected by nonclinical individuals, a phenomenon described as altruistic punishment. Patients and controls participated in a series of UG interactions as responders in a computerized test setting. We also tested the effect of the proposer's facial expression on decision-making. Our results indicate that patients with schizophrenia accepted unfair offers at a significantly higher rate than did healthy controls. In contrast, at fair proposals, the acceptance rate was lower in patients compared with controls. At higher offers, the proposer's facial expression (positive/negative) significantly influenced the acceptance rate (positive facial expression increased the likelihood of acceptance) in the control group. This effect was not observed in the patient group. These results suggest that schizophrenia patients are impaired in socioeconomic interactions requiring emotion recognition and decision-making, which may result in unstable behavioral strategies. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neurocognitive function in clinically stable individuals with long-term bipolar I disorder: Comparisons with schizophrenia patients and controls

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pei-Yun Lin

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This study compared the levels of the five domains of neurocognitive function—executive function, attention, memory, verbal comprehension, and perceptual organization—among clinically stable individuals with long-term bipolar I disorder, individuals with long-term schizophrenia, and a group of controls. We recruited a total of 93 clinically stable individuals with bipolar I disorder, 94 individuals with schizophrenia, and 106 controls in this study. Their neurocognitive function was measured using a series of neurocognitive function tests: the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Third Edition (WAIS-III, Line Cancellation Test, Visual Form Discrimination, Controlled Oral Word Association Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Continuous Performance Task, and Wechsler Memory Scale—Third Edition. Neurocognitive function was compared among the three groups through a multivariate analysis of variance. The results indicated that when the effect of age was controlled, clinically stable individuals with bipolar I disorder and those with schizophrenia demonstrated poor neurocognitive function on all tests except for the WAIS-III Similarity and Information and the Line Cancellation Test. The individuals with bipolar I disorder had similar levels of neurocognitive function compared with the schizophrenia group, but higher levels of neurocognitive function on the WAIS-III Comprehension, Controlled Oral Word Association Test, and Wechsler Memory Scale—Third Edition Auditory Immediate and Delayed Index and Visual Immediate and Delayed Index. The conclusions of this study suggest that compared with controls, individuals with long-term bipolar I disorder and those with long-term schizophrenia have poorer neurocognitive function, even when clinically stable. Individuals with long-term bipolar I disorder and those with long-term schizophrenia have similar levels of deficits in several domains of neurocognitive function.

Structural brain alterations associated with schizophrenia preceded by conduct disorder: a common and distinct subtype of schizophrenia?

Science.gov (United States)

Schiffer, Boris; Leygraf, Norbert; Müller, Bernhard W; Scherbaum, Norbert; Forsting, Michael; Wiltfang, Jens; Gizewski, Elke R; Hodgins, Sheilagh

2013-09-01

Conduct disorder (CD) prior to age 15 is a precursor of schizophrenia in a minority of cases and is associated with violent behavior through adulthood, after taking account of substance misuse. The present study used structural magnetic imaging to examine gray matter (GM) volumes among 27 men with schizophrenia preceded by CD (SZ+CD), 23 men with schizophrenia but without CD (SZ-CD), 27 men with CD only (CD), and 25 healthy (H) men. The groups with schizophrenia were similar in terms of age of onset and duration of illness, levels of psychotic symptoms, and medication. The 2 groups with CD were similar as to number of CD symptoms, lifelong aggressive behavior, and number of criminal convictions. Men with SZ+CD, relative to those with SZ-CD, displayed (1) increased GM volumes in the hypothalamus, the left putamen, the right cuneus/precuneus, and the right inferior parietal cortex after controlling for age, alcohol, and drug misuse and (2) decreased GM volumes in the inferior frontal region. Men with SZ+CD (relative to the SZ-CD group) and CD (relative to the H group) displayed increased GM volumes of the hypothalamus and the inferior and superior parietal lobes, which were not associated with substance misuse. Aggressive behavior, both prior to age 15 and lifetime tendency, was positively correlated with the GM volume of the hypothalamus. Thus, among males, SZ+CD represents a distinct subtype of schizophrenia. Although differences in behavior emerge in childhood and remain stable through adulthood, further research is needed to determine whether the differences in GM volumes result from abnormal neural development distinct from that of other males developing schizophrenia.

Screening of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with schizophrenia and patients treated with antipsychotic drugs: are we equally exhaustive as with the general population?

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo-Sánchez, Miguel; Fàbregas-Escurriola, Mireia; Bergè-Baquero, Daniel; Fernández-SanMartín, MªIsabel; Goday-Arno, Albert

2017-01-01

Many studies have previously shown increased cardiovascular risk factors related to schizophrenia independently from the use of antipsychotic drugs. However, a poorer effort in clinical detection and management of cardiovascular risk in patients with severe mental illness could also explain these results. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the differences in screening and incidence of cardiovascular risk factors between schizophrenia, non-schizophrenic patients on treatment with antipsychotic drugs (NS-TAD) and the general population. Data from adult subjects assessed by high-quality register general practitioners from 2006 to 2011 were extracted from the Catalonian SIDIAP database. The schizophrenia, NS-TAD, and control groups were compared in terms of measurements and incidence of diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity, hypertension, and smoking. A total of 4911 patients in the schizophrenia group, 4157 in NS-TAD group, and 98644 in the control group were included. Schizophrenia patients were screened for dyslipidemia and diabetes more frequently than the control group, while for obesity or hypertension, they were screened equal to controls. Also, as compared to the control group, the NS-TAD group was more frequently screened for obesity with no differences in dyslipidemia and diabetes and less frequently for hypertension. Smoking was less frequently screened in both study groups. The incidence of all risk factors studied in both study groups was higher than or equal to the control group, except for hypertension, which had lower incidence. The lack of screening of risk factors does not appear decisive in the increased cardiovascular risk of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia seen in primary care. Studies evaluating the possible under diagnosis of the risk factors are required. Schizophrenia (SZ); Treatment with antipsychotic drugs (TAD); Cardiovascular risk factor/s (CVRF); Without schizophrenia but on therapy with antipsychotic drugs (NS-TAD); Defined Daily Dose

Structural covariance and cortical reorganisation in schizophrenia: a MRI-based morphometric study.

Science.gov (United States)

Palaniyappan, Lena; Hodgson, Olha; Balain, Vijender; Iwabuchi, Sarina; Gowland, Penny; Liddle, Peter

2018-05-06

In patients with schizophrenia, distributed abnormalities are observed in grey matter volume. A recent hypothesis posits that these distributed changes are indicative of a plastic reorganisation process occurring in response to a functional defect in neuronal information transmission. We investigated the structural covariance across various brain regions in early-stage schizophrenia to determine if indeed the observed patterns of volumetric loss conform to a coordinated pattern of structural reorganisation. Structural magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained from 40 healthy adults and 41 age, gender and parental socioeconomic status matched patients with schizophrenia. Volumes of grey matter tissue were estimated at the regional level across 90 atlas-based parcellations. Group-level structural covariance was studied using a graph theoretical framework. Patients had distributed reduction in grey matter volume, with high degree of localised covariance (clustering) compared with controls. Patients with schizophrenia had reduced centrality of anterior cingulate and insula but increased centrality of the fusiform cortex, compared with controls. Simulating targeted removal of highly central nodes resulted in significant loss of the overall covariance patterns in patients compared with controls. Regional volumetric deficits in schizophrenia are not a result of random, mutually independent processes. Our observations support the occurrence of a spatially interconnected reorganisation with the systematic de-escalation of conventional 'hub' regions. This raises the question of whether the morphological architecture in schizophrenia is primed for compensatory functions, albeit with a high risk of inefficiency.

Effects of smoking history on selective attention in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Constanze; Hahn, Eric; Dettling, Michael; Güntürkün, Onur; Ta, Thi Minh Tam; Neuhaus, Andres H

2012-03-01

Smoking prevalence is highly elevated in schizophrenia compared to the general population and to other psychiatric populations. Evidence suggests that smoking may lead to improvements of schizophrenia-associated attention deficits; however, large-scale studies on this important issue are scarce. We examined whether sustained, selective, and executive attention processes are differentially modulated by long-term nicotine consumption in 104 schizophrenia patients and 104 carefully matched healthy controls. A significant interaction of 'smoking status' × 'diagnostic group' was obtained for the domain of selective attention. Smoking was significantly associated with a detrimental conflict effect in controls, while the opposite effect was revealed for schizophrenia patients. Likewise, a positive correlation between a cumulative measure of nicotine consumption and conflict effect in controls and a negative correlation in patients were found. These results provide evidence for specific directional effects of smoking on conflict processing that critically dissociate with diagnosis. The data supports the self-medication hypothesis of smoking in schizophrenia and suggests selective attention as a specific cognitive domain targeted by nicotine consumption. A potential mechanistic model explaining these findings is discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sertindole versus other atypical antipsychotics for schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

Komossa, Katja; Rummel-Kluge, Christine; Hunger, Heike; Schwarz, Sandra; Schmid, Franziska; Lewis, Ruth; Kissling, Werner; Leucht, Stefan

2014-01-01

Background In many countries of the industrialised world second generation (atypical) antipsychotics have become the first line drug treatment for people with schizophrenia. The question as to whether and, if so, how much the effects of the various second generation antipsychotics differ is a matter of debate. Objectives To evaluate the effects of sertindole compared with other second generation antipsychotics for people with schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like psychosis. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group Trials Register (April 2007) and ClinicalTrials.gov (February 2009). Selection criteria We included all randomised trials comparing oral sertindole with oral forms of amisulpride, aripiprazole, clozapine, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, ziprasidone or zotepine for people with schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like psychosis. Data collection and analysis We extracted data independently. For dichotomous data we calculated relative risks (RR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) on an intention-to-treat basis based on a random-effects model. For continuous data, we calculated weighted mean differences (WMD) again based on a random-effects model. Main results The review currently includes two short-term low-quality randomised trials (total n=508) both comparing sertindole with risperidone. One third of participants left the studies early (2 RCTs, n=504, RR 1.23 CI 0.94 to 1.60). There was no difference in efficacy (2 RCTs, n=493, WMD PANSS total change from baseline 1.98 CI −8.24 to 12.20). Compared with relatively high doses of risperidone (between 4 and 12 mg/day), sertindole produced significantly less akathisia and parkinsonism (1 RCT, n=321, RR 0.24 CI 0.09 to 0.69, NNT 14, CI 8 to 100). Sertindole produced more cardiac effects (2 RCTs, n=508, RR QTc prolongation 4.86 CI 1.94 to 12.18), weight change (2 RCTs, n=328, WMD 0.99 CI 0.12 to 1.86) and male sexual dysfunction (2 RCTs, n=437, RR 2.90 CI 1.32 to 6.35, NNH 13 CI 8 to 33

Risk of neurological, eye and ear disease in offspring to parents with schizophrenia or depression compared with offspring to healthy parents.

Science.gov (United States)

Gunnarsdóttir, Elin Dianna; Hällgren, Jonas; Hultman, Christina M; McNeil, Thomas F; Crisby, Milita; Sandin, Sven

2018-04-19

Neurological, visual and hearing deviations have been observed in the offspring of parents with schizophrenia. This study test whether children to parents hospitalized with schizophrenia have increased the likelihood of childhood neurological disorder. Among all parents in Sweden born 1950-1985 and with offspring born 1968-2002: 7107 children with a parent hospitalized for schizophrenia were compared to 172 982 children with no parents hospitalized for schizophrenia or major depression, as well as to 32 494 children with a parent hospitalized for major depression as a control population with another severe psychiatric outcome. We estimated relative risks (RR) and two-sided 95% confidence intervals calculated from Poisson regression. Children to parents with schizophrenia were more likely than controls to have been hospitalized before the age of 10 with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy, RR = 1.76 (95% CI: 1.15-2.69); epilepsy, RR = 1.78 (95% CI: 1.33-2.40), combined neurological disease, RR = 1.33 (95% CI: 1.11-1.60) and certain diseases of the eye, RR = 1.92 (95% CI: 1.17-3.15) and ear, RR = 1.18 (95% CI: 1.05-1.32). Similar disease-risk-pattern was found for children to parents hospitalized with a diagnosis of major depression. A specific risk increase for strabismus RR = 1.21 (95%CI: 1.05-1.40) was found for off-spring with parental depression. Compared with children to healthy parents, children to parents with schizophrenia have increased risk of a variety of neurological disorders as well as visual and hearing disorders at an early age. The risk increase was not specific to schizophrenia but was also seen in children to parents with a diagnosis of major depression.

A multicenter, randomized controlled trial of individualized occupational therapy for patients with schizophrenia in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimada, Takeshi; Ohori, Manami; Inagaki, Yusuke; Shimooka, Yuko; Sugimura, Naoya; Ishihara, Ikuyo; Yoshida, Tomotaka; Kobayashi, Masayoshi

2018-01-01

The individualized occupational therapy (IOT) program is a psychosocial program that we developed to facilitate proactive participation in treatment and improve cognitive functioning and other outcomes for inpatients with acute schizophrenia. The program consists of motivational interviewing, self-monitoring, individualized visits, handicraft activities, individualized psychoeducation, and discharge planning. This multicenter, open-labeled, blinded-endpoint, randomized controlled trial evaluated the impact of adding IOT to a group OT (GOT) program as usual for outcomes in recently hospitalized patients with schizophrenia in Japanese psychiatric hospitals setting compared with GOT alone. Patients with schizophrenia were randomly assigned to the GOT+IOT group or the GOT alone group. Among 136 randomized patients, 129 were included in the intent-to-treat population: 66 in the GOT+IOT and 63 in the GOT alone groups. Outcomes were administered at baseline and discharge or 3 months following hospitalization including the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia Japanese version (BACS-J), the Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale Japanese version, the Social Functioning Scale Japanese version, the Global Assessment of Functioning scale, the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory Japanese version (IMI-J), the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 (MMAS-8), the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and the Japanese version of Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 (CSQ-8J). Results of linear mixed effects models indicated that the IOT+GOT showed significant improvements in verbal memory (p <0.01), working memory (p = 0.02), verbal fluency (p < 0.01), attention (p < 0.01), and composite score (p < 0.01) on the BACS-J; interest/enjoyment (p < 0.01), value/usefulness (p < 0.01), perceived choice (p < 0.01), and IMI-J total (p < 0.01) on the IMI-J; MMAS-8 score (p < 0.01) compared with the GOT alone. Patients in the GOT+IOT demonstrated significant improvements on the CSQ-8J

Comparative study on clinically latent aggressiveness inoutpatients with schizophrenia treated with classical antipsychotics and with risperidone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Konstantinos Tsirigotis

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: The use of neuroleptics causes not only regression of psychotic symptoms; neuroleptics affect also the patients’ mental state which is changing not only due to medications effects but also secondarily, as a result of regression of psychotic symptoms. The aim of this study was evaluation of subjectively felt “silent” (clinically latent hostility and aggressiveness in patients with paranoid schizophrenia treated with typical neuroleptics and risperidone. Material and methods: Sixty patients (30 patients treated with typical neuroleptics and the other 30 – with risperidone were examined with the Polish version of the following tools: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI, Adjective Check List (ACL and Stern Activities Index (SAI. Results: The statistical analysis of the obtained results yielded many statistically significant differences within the intensity of hostility and aggressiveness in the examined groups. Conclusions: The results of this study showed a higher severity of psychological and personality problems in patients treated with typical neuroleptics, as compared to those treated with risperidone. In patients with paranoid schizophrenia treated with risperidone a lower severity of psychopathological, especially schizophrenic and paranoid, symptoms and lower hostility and aggressiveness were found. Considering that risperidone improves verbal functions, it can be assumed that this entails an improvement in the patients’ communicative competences, thereby improving also their interpersonal relationships. The results of this study indicate a higher susceptibility of people in this group to social influences and less hostility and negativity experienced by them.

Effect of systemic family therapy on rehabilitation in patients with schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Zhang

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: To explore the effect of systemic family therapy on the rehabilitation in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: A total of 86 patients with schizophrenia who were admitted in our hospital from February, 2011 to February, 2014 were included in the study and randomized into the observation group and the control group. A total of 43 healthy individuals for physical examinations were served as the healthy group. The patients in the control group were given risperidone in a single dose, and telephone follow-up. On this basis, the patients in the observation group were given systemic family therapy. The morning fasting venous blood before treatment and 3 months after treatment in the healthy group and patients with schizophrenia was collected. BDNF, NGF, GFAP, IL-6, and TNF-α were detected. After 6-month treatment, SCL-90 was used to evaluate the psychological state. Results: The serum BDNF and NGF levels before and after treatment in the observation group and the control group were significantly lower than those in the healthy group, while GFAP level was significantly higher than that in the healthy group (P0.05. The serum IL-6 and TNF-α levels before and after treatment in the observation group and the control group were significantly higher than those in the healthy group (P0.05. After 6-month treatment, the scores of somatization, interpersonal relationship, fear, anxiety, hostility, paranoid, depression, obsession, and mental disorder in the observation group were significantly reduced when compared with before treatment (P0.05. Conclusions: The systemic family therapy is an effective adjuvant method for the rehabilitation in patients with schizophrenia, and can effectively improve the mental health status; therefore, it deserves to be widely recommended in the clinic.

Effect of systemic family therapy on rehabilitation in patients with schizophrenia

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Wei Zhang; Na Li; Ying-Ting Li; Shu-Qing Dong; Li-Mei Feng

2016-01-01

Objective:To explore the effect of systemic family therapy on the rehabilitation in patients with schizophrenia.Methods: A total of 86 patients with schizophrenia who were admitted in our hospital from February, 2011 to February, 2014 were included in the study and randomized into the observation group and the control group. A total of 43 healthy individuals for physical examinations were served as the healthy group. The patients in the control group were given risperidone in a single dose, and telephone follow-up. On this basis, the patients in the observation group were given systemic family therapy. The morning fasting venous blood before treatment and 3 months after treatment in the healthy group and patients with schizophrenia was collected. BDNF, NGF, GFAP, IL-6, and TNF-α were detected. After 6-month treatment, SCL-90 was used to evaluate the psychological state.Results: The serum BDNF and NGF levels before and after treatment in the observation group and the control group were significantly lower than those in the healthy group, while GFAP level was significantly higher than that in the healthy group (P0.05). The serum IL-6 and TNF-α levels before and after treatment in the observation group and the control group were significantly higher than those in the healthy group (P0.05). After 6-month treatment, the scores of somatization, interpersonal relationship, fear, anxiety, hostility, paranoid, depression, obsession, and mental disorder in the observation group were significantly reduced when compared with before treatment (P0.05).Conclusions:The systemic family therapy is an effective adjuvant method for the rehabilitation in patients with schizophrenia, and can effectively improve the mental health status; therefore, it deserves to be widely recommended in the clinic.

Haloperidol versus second-generation antipsychotics in the long-term treatment of schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Buoli, Massimiliano; Kahn, René S; Serati, Marta; Altamura, A Carlo; Cahn, Wiepke

2016-07-01

The purpose of the study was to compare antipsychotic monotherapies in terms of time to discontinuation in a sample of schizophrenia patients followed-up for 36 months. Two hundred and twenty schizophrenia patients, treated with antipsychotic monotherapy and followed-up in psychiatric outpatient clinics of Universities of Milan and Utrecht were included in the study. A survival analysis (Kaplan-Meier) of the 36-month follow-up period was performed to compare the single treatment groups. End-point was considered as discontinuation of treatment for recurrence, side effects or non-compliance. Patients treated with haloperidol discontinued more than the other groups (Breslow: risperidone p haloperidol group than in the olanzapine group (p haloperidol group than with olanzapine (p haloperidol. In addition, atypical antipsychotics seem to be more protective against recurrences than haloperidol. However, these results should be cautiously interpreted in the light of potential confounder factors such as duration of illness. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Disease and genetic contributions toward local tissue volume disturbances in schizophrenia: a tensor-based morphometry study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yaling; Nuechterlein, Keith H; Phillips, Owen R; Gutman, Boris; Kurth, Florian; Dinov, Ivo; Thompson, Paul M; Asarnow, Robert F; Toga, Arthur W; Narr, Katherine L

2012-09-01

Structural brain deficits, especially frontotemporal volume reduction and ventricular enlargement, have been repeatedly reported in patients with schizophrenia. However, it remains unclear whether brain structural deformations may be attributable to disease-related or genetic factors. In this study, the structural magnetic resonance imaging data of 48 adult-onset schizophrenia patients, 65 first-degree nonpsychotic relatives of schizophrenia patients, 27 community comparison (CC) probands, and 73 CC relatives were examined using tensor-based morphometry (TBM) to isolate global and localized differences in tissue volume across the entire brain between groups. We found brain tissue contractions most prominently in frontal and temporal regions and expansions in the putamen/pallidum, and lateral and third ventricles in schizophrenia patients when compared with unrelated CC probands. Results were similar, though less prominent when patients were compared with their nonpsychotic relatives. Structural deformations observed in unaffected patient relatives compared to age-similar CC relatives were suggestive of schizophrenia-related genetic liability and were pronounced in the putamen/pallidum and medial temporal regions. Schizophrenia and genetic liability effects for the putamen/pallidum were confirmed by regions-of-interest analysis. In conclusion, TBM findings complement reports of frontal, temporal, and ventricular dysmorphology in schizophrenia and further indicate that putamen/pallidum enlargements, originally linked mainly with medication exposure in early studies, also reflect a genetic predisposition for schizophrenia. Thus, brain deformation profiles revealed in this study may help to clarify the role of specific genetic or environmental risk factors toward altered brain morphology in schizophrenia.

Patterns of Coping Preference among Persons with Schizophrenia: Associations with Self-Esteem, Hope, Symptoms and Function

Science.gov (United States)

Lysaker, Paul H.; Tsai, Jack; Hammoud, Kristin; Davis, Louanne W.

2009-01-01

Maladaptive styles of coping are believed to be a barrier to recovery from schizophrenia. In this study we obtained measures of coping for 133 persons with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. A cluster analysis was then performed based on those scores and produced five distinctive coping profiles. These five groups were then compared on…

STUDY OF FACTORS AFFECTING SUICIDE ATTEMPTS IN PERSONS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ottilingam Somasundaram Ravindran

2016-09-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Schizophrenia has been called a ‘Life-shortening disease’, because many sufferers die early than general population and suicide accounts for a significant proportion of those dying prematurely. Suicide attempts in schizophrenia has been an intriguing area of research work for mental health professionals. Indian research on suicide attempts in schizophrenia have been few. OBJECTIVES The objectives were to study the suicidal behaviour in schizophrenia, to compare and study the positive and negative symptoms, depressive symptoms, hopelessness and suicide intent in schizophrenic population with suicide attempt compared to nonattempters, along with socio-demographic parameters. METHODS A sample of 60 consecutive patients attending OPD of a Private tertiary care Hospital in Chennai were selected. Those who had a diagnosis of schizophrenia were screened for the presence of past suicide attempts. They were divided into two groups as suicide attempters and non-attempters, and analysed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS, Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS, Beck’s hopelessness scale (BHS, and Suicide intent scale (SIS. RESULTS Among the disorders schizophrenia is rated the second most common reason for suicide attempts (53.3%, especially when associated with positive symptoms, depressive features and significant hopelessness. Demographic parameters like age, sex, educational status, occupation, economic status, and marital status were not found to be significant factors linked to the suicide attempts, however family history of suicide had a significant association in schizophrenic suicide attempts. Suicidal intent severity was medium to high among most of the attempters; poisoning was the commonest method; and were found to be due to positive symptoms and depressive symptoms in the schizophrenic illness course.

Exploratory RCT of art therapy as an adjunctive treatment in schizophrenia

OpenAIRE

Richardson, Phil; Jones, Kevin; Evans, Chris; Stevens, Peter; Rowe, Anna; HASH(0x7f4d76f6c120)

2007-01-01

Background\\ud There is no high quality controlled trial evidence for the effectiveness of art therapy in the adjunctive treatment of schizophrenia.\\ud \\ud Aims\\ud To conduct the first exploratory RCT of group interactive art therapy (AT) as an adjunctive treatment in chronic schizophrenia.\\ud \\ud Method\\ud The outcomes of 43 patients randomised to 12 sessions of AT were compared with those of 47 who received standard psychiatric care. Patients were assessed on a range of measures of symptoms,...

Neurocognition in early-onset schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Hooper, Stephen R; Giuliano, Anthony J; Youngstrom, Eric A; Breiger, David; Sikich, Linmarie; Frazier, Jean A; Findling, Robert L; McClellan, Jon; Hamer, Robert M; Vitiello, Benedetto; Lieberman, Jeffrey A

2010-01-01

We examined the neuropsychological functioning of youth enrolled in the NIMH funded trial, Treatment of Early-Onset Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (TEOSS). We compared the baseline neuropsychological functioning of youth with schizophrenia (SZ, n = 79) to those with schizoaffective disorder (SA, n = 40), and examined the relationship of different variables of illness severity and adaptive behavior to neuropsychological functioning. Participants ranged in age from 8 to 19 years. Diagnostic status was confirmed via structured interview over multiple time points. Domains of neuropsychological functioning included fine-motor, attention, working memory, problem-solving efficiency, inhibitory control, and social cognition. Other variables included intelligence (IQ), academic achievement skills, adaptive behavior, and different measures of illness severity. The two groups did not differ on IQ or on any of the neuropsychological domains. The SZ group performed significantly lower in spelling. A high proportion of individuals in both groups reflected significant intellectual and academic achievement skill deficits. Significant correlations were found between the neurocognitive domains and both illness severity and adaptive behavior variables. There were few differences between the SZ and SA groups on IQ, achievement, or neuropsychological functioning; however, both groups showed significantly high rates of deficits in IQ and basic academic skills. Correlations of the neurocognitive functions with illness severity and adaptive behavior were small to moderate in magnitude. These findings continue to implicate the importance of neurocognitive functioning as a key area of vulnerability in the study of youth with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Do better communication skills promote sheltered employment in schizophrenia?

Science.gov (United States)

Adamczyk, Przemysław; Daren, Artur; Sułecka, Aleksandra; Błądziński, Piotr; Cichocki, Łukasz; Kalisz, Aneta; Gawęda, Łukasz; Cechnicki, Andrzej

2016-10-01

Alongside various psychopathological symptoms and neurocognitive dysfunctions, communication skill impairments may be considered core feature of schizophrenia. Although many studies examined the relation between employment status and neurocognition in schizophrenia, we still know very little about the role of communication skills in vocational status among people with schizophrenia. The purpose of this study is to identify the most characteristic communication, neurocognitive and social cognition differences which separate the employed schizophrenia outpatients from those who do not work. The study included three groups: 33 schizophrenia outpatients employed in social firms, 29 unemployed schizophrenia outpatients participating in occupational therapy and sex & age matched 31 healthy controls. We assessed communication skills, global cognitive functioning, executive functions, memory, social cognition as well as severity of psychopathology. Our results indicate that the most characteristic differences between employed and unemployed schizophrenia outpatients are associated with selective language and communication skills, i.e. paralinguistic aspects of communication, understanding of discrete meaning of linguistic context and figurative meaning of language. We find no significant differences between both clinical groups with regard to neurocognition and social cognition. Moreover, unemployed group had more severe psychopathology than the employed group, so we re-analyzed results controlling for symptom severity. The only differences that endured were related to general communication skills and explanation of pictured metaphors, but only when controlling solely for positive or negative syndrome. In conclusion, the present study indicates that employment in schizophrenia is associated with better symptomatic remission and communication skills, but not with better neurocognition and social cognition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Smaller than expected cognitive deficits in schizophrenia patients from the population-representative ABC catchment cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Lennertz, Leonhard; An der Heiden, Wolfram; Kronacher, Regina; Schulze-Rauschenbach, Svenja; Maier, Wolfgang; Häfner, Heinz; Wagner, Michael

2016-08-01

Most neuropsychological studies on schizophrenia suffer from sample selection bias, with male and chronic patients being overrepresented. This probably leads to an overestimation of cognitive impairments. The present study aimed to provide a less biased estimate of cognitive functions in schizophrenia using a population-representative catchment area sample. Schizophrenia patients (N = 89) from the prospective Mannheim ABC cohort were assessed 14 years after disease onset and first diagnosis, using a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. A healthy control group (N = 90) was carefully matched according to age, gender, and geographic region (city, rural surrounds). The present sample was representative for the initial ABC cohort. In the comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, the schizophrenia patients were only moderately impaired as compared to the healthy control group (d = 0.56 for a general cognitive index, d = 0.42 for verbal memory, d = 0.61 for executive functions, d = 0.69 for attention). Only 33 % of the schizophrenia patients scored one standard deviation unit below the healthy control group in the general cognitive index. Neuropsychological performance did not correlate with measures of the clinical course including age at onset, number of hospital admissions, and time in paid work. Thus, in this population-representative sample of schizophrenia patients, neuropsychological deficits were less pronounced than expected from meta-analyses. In agreement with other epidemiological studies, this suggests a less devastating picture of cognition in schizophrenia.

Relative Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction in People with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shu-I Wu

Full Text Available Despite high mortality associated with serious mental illness, risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI remains unclear, especially for patients with bipolar disorder. The main objective was to investigate the relative risk of AMI associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders in a national sample.Using nationwide administrative data, an 11-year historic cohort study was assembled, comprised of cases aged 18 and above who had received a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, compared to a random sample of all other adults excluding those with diagnoses of serious mental illness. Incident AMI as a primary diagnosis was ascertained. Hazard ratios stratified by age and gender were calculated and Cox regression models were used to adjust for other covariates.A total of 70,225 people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and 207,592 people without serious mental illness were compared. Hazard ratios in men adjusted for age, income and urbanization were 1.15 (95% CI 1.01~1.32 for schizophrenia and 1.37 (1.08~1.73for bipolar disorder, and in women, 1.85 (1.58~2.18 and 1.88(1.47~2.41 respectively. Further adjustment for treated hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidaemia attenuated the hazard ratio for men with schizophrenia but not the other comparison groups. Hazard ratios were significantly stronger in women than men and were stronger in younger compared to older age groups for both disorders; however, gender modification was only significant in people with schizophrenia, and age modification only significant in people with bipolar disorder.In this large national sample, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were associated with raised risk of AMI in women and in the younger age groups although showed differences in potential confounding and modifying factors.

Relative Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction in People with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Shu-I; Chen, Su-Chiu; Liu, Shen-Ing; Sun, Fang-Ju; Juang, Jimmy J M; Lee, Hsin-Chien; Kao, Kai-Liang; Dewey, Michael E; Prince, Martin; Stewart, Robert

2015-01-01

Despite high mortality associated with serious mental illness, risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains unclear, especially for patients with bipolar disorder. The main objective was to investigate the relative risk of AMI associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders in a national sample. Using nationwide administrative data, an 11-year historic cohort study was assembled, comprised of cases aged 18 and above who had received a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, compared to a random sample of all other adults excluding those with diagnoses of serious mental illness. Incident AMI as a primary diagnosis was ascertained. Hazard ratios stratified by age and gender were calculated and Cox regression models were used to adjust for other covariates. A total of 70,225 people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and 207,592 people without serious mental illness were compared. Hazard ratios in men adjusted for age, income and urbanization were 1.15 (95% CI 1.01~1.32) for schizophrenia and 1.37 (1.08~1.73)for bipolar disorder, and in women, 1.85 (1.58~2.18) and 1.88(1.47~2.41) respectively. Further adjustment for treated hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidaemia attenuated the hazard ratio for men with schizophrenia but not the other comparison groups. Hazard ratios were significantly stronger in women than men and were stronger in younger compared to older age groups for both disorders; however, gender modification was only significant in people with schizophrenia, and age modification only significant in people with bipolar disorder. In this large national sample, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were associated with raised risk of AMI in women and in the younger age groups although showed differences in potential confounding and modifying factors.

Association of gliadin antibodies, HLA alleles, and schizophrenia in Cuban population patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José A. Galván

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Several lines of evidence have suggested an interesting link between gluten ingestion and schizophrenia. For example, increased levels of gliadin and transglutaminase antibodies have been observed in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: To verify these observations we compared the prevalence of gliadin and transglutaminse antibodies, as well as the presence of the HLA alleles, HLA DQA1*0501-DQB1*02 (DQ2 and HLA-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0302 (DQ8, among patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. A total of 108 patients with schizophrenia and 60 healthy controls were evaluated. Gliadin antibodies were determined by a visual semiquantitative assay and tissue transglutaminase antibodies were determined both by one-step immunochromatografic assay and ELISA. HLA typing was performed by PCR amplification using sequence-specific primers for each allele. Results: We found a strong association between the presence of gliadin antibodies and schizophrenia (OR 3.488; 95% CI, 1.43-8.44. However, tissue transglutaminase antibodies were not detected in either group neither by immunochromatograpic or ELISA. No significant association was found for the DQ2 or DQ8 heterodimer and the disease, but a significant positive association between schizophrenia and HLA alleles DQA1*0301 and DQB1*02 was present (OR = 2.80; 95% CI, 1.27-6.17, and OR = 2.37, 95% CI, 1.24-4.53, respectively. Conclusions: The present study showed that the presence of gliadin antibodies was not correlated with the presence of HLA DQA1*0301 or DQB1*02 alleles within the group of patients with schizophrenia. Our study replicates the findings that anti-gliadin antibodies are associated with schizophrenia but also suggests that the presence of these antibodies and the HLA alleles DQB1*02 and DQA1*0301 are independently associated with susceptibility to schizophrenia.

Functioning in early and late stages of schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonardo Gazzi Costa

2014-12-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Schizophrenia is frequently associated with a debilitating course and prominent impairment in social and occupational functioning. Although the criteria for classification into stages have not been defined in the literature, illness duration and functioning seem to be good candidates.OBJECTIVE:To compare functioning of patients with schizophrenia at different stages of the disease (early vs. late and healthy sex- and age-matched controls.METHODS: This double-blinded, case-controlled study included 79 individuals: 23 patients with schizophrenia diagnosed up to 5 years earlier; 19 patients with schizophrenia diagnosed at least 20 years earlier; and healthy matched controls. Diagnoses were established using the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV Axis I Disorder. Functioning was assessed using the Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST.RESULTS: Patients in the early stage had significantly higher scores than healthy controls in total FAST and in autonomy, occupational functioning, cognitive functioning and interpersonal relationships. Individuals in the late stage had significantly poorer functioning than controls in all domains. The comparison of functioning between the two groups of patients revealed no significant differences, except in occupational functioning, in which late stage patients had a poorer performance.CONCLUSION: Functioning impairment in schizophrenia tends to remain stable despite illness duration. Therefore, functioning should be effectively assessed at an early stage, as illness duration alone may not be the most reliable criterion to stage patients with schizophrenia.

Loss aversion in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Trémeau, Fabien; Brady, Melissa; Saccente, Erica; Moreno, Alexis; Epstein, Henry; Citrome, Leslie; Malaspina, Dolores; Javitt, Daniel

2008-08-01

Loss aversion in decision-making refers to a higher sensitivity to losses than to gains. Loss aversion is conceived as an affective interference in cognitive processes such as judgment and decision-making. Loss aversion in non-risky choices has not been studied in schizophrenia. Forty-two individuals with schizophrenia and 42 non-patient control subjects, matched by gender and age, were randomized to two different scenarios (a buying scenario and a selling scenario). Subjects were asked to evaluate the price of a decorated mug. Schizophrenia subjects were re-tested four weeks later with the other scenario. Contrary to non-patient controls, schizophrenia subjects did not show loss aversion. In the schizophrenia group, absence of loss aversion was correlated with age, duration of illness, number of months in State hospitals, and poorer performance in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, but not with current psychopathology and two domains of emotional experience. Absence of loss aversion in schizophrenia represents a deficit in the processing of emotional information during decision-making. It can be interpreted as a lack of integration between the emotional and the cognitive systems, or to a more diffuse and de-differentiated impact of emotional information on decision-making. Future studies should bring more clarity to this question.

Low IQ scores in schizophrenia : primary or secondary deficit?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Beilen, M; Withaar, F; van Zomeren, AH; van den Bosch, R

Background: Schizophrenia is consistently associated with lower IQ compared to the IQ of control groups, or estimated premorbid IQ. It is not likely that the IQ scores deteriorate during the prodromal phase or first psychotic episode; they are already present before the onset of the prodromal phase

Electroconvulsive therapy for schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Tharyan, P; Adams, C E

2005-04-18

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) involves the induction of a seizure for therapeutic purposes by the administration of a variable frequency electrical stimulus shock via electrodes applied to the scalp. The effects of its use in people with schizophrenia are unclear. To determine whether electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) results in clinically meaningful benefit with regard to global improvement, hospitalisation, changes in mental state, behaviour and functioning for people with schizophrenia, and to determine whether variations in the practical administration of ECT influences outcome. We undertook electronic searches of Biological Abstracts (1982-1996), EMBASE (1980-1996), MEDLINE (1966-2004), PsycLIT (1974-1996),SCISEARCH (1996) and the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Register (July 2004). We also inspected the references of all identified studies and contacted relevant authors. We included all randomised controlled clinical trials that compared ECT with placebo, 'sham ECT', non-pharmacological interventions and antipsychotics and different schedules and methods of administration of ECT for people with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or chronic mental disorder. Working independently, we selected and critically appraised studies, extracted data and analysed on an intention-to-treat basis. Where possible and appropriate we calculated risk ratios (RR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) with the number needed to treat (NNT). For continuous data Weighted Mean Differences (WMD) were calculated. We presented scale data for only those tools that had attained pre-specified levels of quality. We also undertook tests for heterogeneity and publication bias. This review includes 26 trials with 50 reports. When ECT is compared with placebo or sham ECT, more people improved in the real ECT group (n=392, 10 RCTs, RR 0.76 random CI 0.59 to 0.98, NNT 6 CI 4 to 12) and though data were heterogeneous (chi-square 17.49 df=9 P=0.04), its impact on variability of data was not

[Correlation between genetic polymorphisms of -855 G/C and -1140 G/A in GRIN1 gene and paranoid schizophrenia].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhong-Jie; Ding, Mei; Pang, Hao; Sun, Xue-Fei; Xing, Jia-Xin; Xuan, Jin-Feng; Wang, Bao-Jie

2013-04-01

To investigate the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of -855 G/C and -1140 G/A in promoter regions of GRIN1 gene and find their genetic correlation to paranoid schizophrenia as well as their applicable values in forensic medicine. The genetic polymorphisms of -855 G/C and -1140 G/A at the 5' end of GRIN1 gene were detected by PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism and PAGE in 183 healthy unrelated individuals of northern Chinese Han population and 172 patients of paranoid schizophrenia, respectively. The chi2 test was used to identify Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium of the genotype distribution. The differences of genotypes and allelic frequency distributions were compared between the two groups. Distributions of the genotypic frequencies satisfied Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in both groups. The difference of genotypes was statistically significant between female patient group and female control group in -855 G/C distribution (P paranoid schizophrenia. The genetic factor of schizophrenia is involved in gender tendency. And it could be useful in forensic identification of schizophrenia.

Online Communication about Depression and Anxiety among Twitter Users with Schizophrenia: Preliminary Findings to Inform a Digital Phenotype Using Social Media.

Science.gov (United States)

Hswen, Yulin; Naslund, John A; Brownstein, John S; Hawkins, Jared B

2018-01-12

Digital technologies hold promise for supporting the detection and management of schizophrenia. This exploratory study aimed to generate an initial understanding of whether patterns of communication about depression and anxiety on popular social media among individuals with schizophrenia are consistent with offline representations of the illness. From January to July 2016, posts on Twitter were collected from a sample of Twitter users who self-identify as having a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (n = 203) and a randomly selected sample of control users (n = 173). Frequency and timing of communication about depression and anxiety were compared between groups. In total, the groups posted n = 1,544,122 tweets and users had similar characteristics. Twitter users with schizophrenia showed significantly greater odds of tweeting about depression compared with control users (OR = 2.69; 95% CI 1.76-4.10), and significantly greater odds of tweeting about anxiety compared with control users (OR = 1.81; 95% CI 1.20-2.73). This study offers preliminary insights that Twitter users with schizophrenia may express elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety in their online posts, which is consistent with clinical characteristics of schizophrenia observed in offline settings. Social media platforms could further our understanding of schizophrenia by informing a digital phenotype and may afford new opportunities to support early illness detection.

Theory of mind deficits for processing counterfactual information in persons with chronic schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kern, R S; Green, M F; Fiske, A P; Kee, K S; Lee, J; Sergi, M J; Horan, W P; Subotnik, K L; Sugar, C A; Nuechterlein, K H

2009-04-01

Interpersonal communication problems are common among persons with schizophrenia and may be linked, in part, to deficits in theory of mind (ToM), the ability to accurately perceive the attitudes, beliefs and intentions of others. Particular difficulties might be expected in the processing of counterfactual information such as sarcasm or lies. The present study included 50 schizophrenia or schizo-affective out-patients and 44 demographically comparable healthy adults who were administered Part III of The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT; a measure assessing comprehension of sarcasm versus lies) as well as measures of positive and negative symptoms and community functioning. TASIT data were analyzed using a 2 (group: patients versus healthy adults) x 2 (condition: sarcasm versus lie) repeated-measures ANOVA. The results show significant effects for group, condition, and the group x condition interaction. Compared to controls, patients performed significantly worse on sarcasm but not lie scenes. Within-group contrasts showed that patients performed significantly worse on sarcasm versus lie scenes; controls performed comparably on both. In patients, performance on TASIT showed a significant correlation with positive, but not negative, symptoms. The group and interaction effects remained significant when rerun with a subset of patients with low-level positive symptoms. The findings for a relationship between TASIT performance and community functioning were essentially negative. The findings replicate a prior demonstration of difficulty in the comprehension of sarcasm using a different test, but are not consistent with previous studies showing global ToM deficits in schizophrenia.

Amisulpride versus other atypical antipsychotics for schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

Komossa, Katja; Rummel-Kluge, Christine; Hunger, Heike; Schmid, Franziska; Schwarz, Sandra; da Mota Neto, Joaquim I Silveira; Kissling, Werner; Leucht, Stefan

2014-01-01

Background In many countries of the industrialised world second generation (atypical) antipsychotics have become first line drug treatments for people with schizophrenia. The question as to whether, and if so how much, the effects of the various second generation antipsychotics differ is a matter of debate. In this review we examine how the efficacy and tolerability of amisulpride differs from that of other second generation antipsychotics. Objectives To evaluate the effects of amisulpride compared with other atypical antipsychotics for people with schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like psychoses. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group Trials Register (April 2007) which is based on regular searches of BIOSIS, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE and PsycINFO. We updated this search in July 2012 and added 47 new trials to the awaiting classification section. Selection criteria We included randomised, at least single-blind, trials comparing oral amisulpride with oral forms of aripiprazole, clozapine, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, sertindole, ziprasidone or zotepine in people with schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like psychoses. Data collection and analysis We extracted data independently. For continuous data we calculated weighted mean differences (MD), for dichotomous data we calculated relative risks (RR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) on an intention-to-treat basis based on a random effects model. We calculated numbers needed to treat/harm (NNT/NNH) where appropriate. Main results The review currently includes ten short to medium term trials with 1549 participants on three comparisons: amisulpride versus olanzapine, risperidone and ziprasidone. The overall attrition rate was considerable (34.7%) with no significant difference between groups. Amisulpride was similarly effective as olanzapine and risperidone and more effective than ziprasidone (leaving the study early due to inefficacy: n=123, 1 RCT, RR 0.21 CI 0.05 to 0.94, NNT 8 CI 5 to 50

Deficient multisensory integration in schizophrenia: an event-related potential study.

Science.gov (United States)

Stekelenburg, Jeroen J; Maes, Jan Pieter; Van Gool, Arthur R; Sitskoorn, Margriet; Vroomen, Jean

2013-07-01

In many natural audiovisual events (e.g., the sight of a face articulating the syllable /ba/), the visual signal precedes the sound and thus allows observers to predict the onset and the content of the sound. In healthy adults, the N1 component of the event-related brain potential (ERP), reflecting neural activity associated with basic sound processing, is suppressed if a sound is accompanied by a video that reliably predicts sound onset. If the sound does not match the content of the video (e.g., hearing /ba/ while lipreading /fu/), the later occurring P2 component is affected. Here, we examined whether these visual information sources affect auditory processing in patients with schizophrenia. The electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded in 18 patients with schizophrenia and compared with that of 18 healthy volunteers. As stimuli we used video recordings of natural actions in which visual information preceded and predicted the onset of the sound that was either congruent or incongruent with the video. For the healthy control group, visual information reduced the auditory-evoked N1 if compared to a sound-only condition, and stimulus-congruency affected the P2. This reduction in N1 was absent in patients with schizophrenia, and the congruency effect on the P2 was diminished. Distributed source estimations revealed deficits in the network subserving audiovisual integration in patients with schizophrenia. The results show a deficit in multisensory processing in patients with schizophrenia and suggest that multisensory integration dysfunction may be an important and, to date, under-researched aspect of schizophrenia. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Pattern of brain activation during social cognitive tasks is related to social competence in siblings discordant for schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Villarreal, Mirta F; Drucaroff, Lucas J; Goldschmidt, Micaela G; de Achával, Delfina; Costanzo, Elsa Y; Castro, Mariana N; Ladrón-de-Guevara, M Soledad; Busatto Filho, Geraldo; Nemeroff, Charles B; Guinjoan, Salvador M

2014-09-01

Measures of social competence are closely related to actual community functioning in patients with schizophrenia. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying competence in schizophrenia are not fully understood. We hypothesized that social deficits in schizophrenia are explained, at least in part, by abnormally lateralized patterns of brain activation in response to tasks engaging social cognition, as compared to healthy individuals. We predicted such patterns would be partly heritable, and therefore affected in patients' nonpsychotic siblings as well. We used a functional magnetic resonance image paradigm to characterize brain activation induced by theory of mind tasks, and two tests of social competence, the Test of Adaptive Behavior in Schizophrenia (TABS), and the Social Skills Performance Assessment (SSPA) in siblings discordant for schizophrenia and comparable healthy controls (n = 14 per group). Healthy individuals showed the strongest correlation between social competence and activation of right hemisphere structures involved in social cognitive processing, whereas in patients, the correlation pattern was lateralized to left hemisphere areas. Unaffected siblings of patients exhibited a pattern intermediate between the other groups. These results support the hypothesis that schizophrenia may be characterized by an abnormal functioning of nondominant hemisphere structures involved in the processing of socially salient information. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

F247. INTERNALIZED STIGMA HAS A STRONGER RELATIONSHIP WITH INTRINSIC MOTIVATION COMPARED TO AMOTIVATION IN EARLY PHASE AND PROLONGED SCHIZOPHRENIA

Science.gov (United States)

Firmin, Ruth; Luther, Lauren; Lysaker, Paul; Vohs, Jennifer

2018-01-01

Abstract Background Motivation deficits predict decreased functioning in schizophrenia. Recent work suggests deficits reflect challenges in separate domains: intrinsic motivation (one’s internal drive to engage in a behavior out of enjoyment or interest) and amotivation (one’s broader decrease in motivated behavior linked to avolition and anhedonia). Internalized stigma is another determinant of functioning for people with schizophrenia that may impact motivation. However, little is known about these relationships, including which aspects of motivation it may impact nor when these links emerge. Identifying the link between these constructs may help to identify whether internalized stigma may be a novel treatment target to facilitate improvements in motivation. Methods Forty adults with early phase schizophrenia and 66 adults with prolonged schizophrenia completed measures of internalized stigma, intrinsic motivation, and amotivation. Pearson’s correlations were examined followed by Fischer’s r-to-z transformations to compare differences in the magnitude of associations between internalized stigma and intrinsic motivation and internalized stigma and amotivation among the first episode and prolonged samples. Next, we conducted stepwise regressions to examine whether internalized stigma was associated with intrinsic motivation above and beyond associations with amotivation in each sample. Results In the early phase sample, the association between internalized stigma was greater with intrinsic motivation (r=-0.48, p=.00) compared to amotivation (r=0.27, p=0.10). Associations with internalized stigma in the prolonged sample were also greater with intrinsic motivation (r=-0.30, p=0.02) versus amotivation (r=0.19, p=0.12). The magnitude of the associations between internalized stigma and intrinsic motivation (z=1.03, p=0.15) and between internalized stigma and amotivation (z=0.41, p = 0.34) did not significantly differ when comparing phase of illness. Regression

Schizophrenia on YouTube.

Science.gov (United States)

Nour, Matthew M; Nour, Murraih H; Tsatalou, Olga-Maria; Barrera, Alvaro

2017-01-01

YouTube ( www.youtube.com ) is the most popular video-sharing Web site on the Internet and is used by medical students as a source of information regarding mental health conditions, including schizophrenia. The accuracy and educational utility of schizophrenia presentations on YouTube are unknown. The purpose of this study was to analyze the accuracy of depictions of psychosis in the context of a diagnosis of schizophrenia (referred to in this article as "acute schizophrenia") on YouTube and to assess the utility of these videos as educational tools for teaching medical students to recognize the clinical features of acute schizophrenia. YouTube was searched for videos purporting to show acute schizophrenia. Eligible videos were independently rated by two consultant psychiatrists on two separate occasions 22 days apart for diagnostic accuracy, psychopathology, and educational utility. Videos (N=4,200) were assessed against predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The majority were not eligible for further analysis, mostly because they did not claim to show a patient with schizophrenia (74%) or contained duplicated content (11%). Of 35 videos that met the eligibility and adequacy criteria, only 12 accurately depicted acute schizophrenia. Accurate videos were characterized by persecutory delusions (83%), inappropriate affect (75%), and negative symptoms (83%). Despite the fact that 83% of accurate videos were deemed to have good educational utility compared with 15% of inaccurate videos, accurate and inaccurate videos had similar view counts (290,048 versus 186,124). Schizophrenia presentations on YouTube offer a distorted picture of the condition.

Is schizophrenia associated with an increased risk of chronic kidney disease? A nationwide matched-cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tzeng, Nian-Sheng; Hsu, Yung-Ho; Ho, Shinn-Ying; Kuo, Yu-Ching; Lee, Hua-Chin; Yin, Yun-Ju; Chen, Hong-An; Chen, Wen-Liang; Chu, William Cheng-Chung; Huang, Hui-Ling

2015-01-27

The impact of schizophrenia on vital diseases, such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), has not as yet been verified. This study aims to establish whether there is an association between schizophrenia and CKD. A nationwide matched cohort study. Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. A total of 2338 patients with schizophrenia, and 7014 controls without schizophrenia (1:3), matched cohort for sex, age group, geography, urbanisation and monthly income, between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2007, based on the International Classifications of Disease Ninth Edition (ICD-9), Clinical Modification codes. After making adjustments for confounding risk factors, a Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare the risk of developing CKD during a 3-year follow-up period from the index date. Of the 2338-subject case cohort, 163 (6.97%) developed a CKD, as did 365 (5.20%) of the 7014 control participants. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed that patients with schizophrenia were more likely to develop CKD (HR=1.36, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.63; pschizophrenia was 1.25 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.50; prisk of CKD in patients with schizophrenia. The findings from this population-based retrospective cohort study suggest that schizophrenia is associated with a 25% increase in the risk of developing CKD within only a 3-year follow-up period. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Association study between BDNF C-281A polymorphism and paranoid schizophrenia in Polish population.

Science.gov (United States)

Suchanek, Renata; Owczarek, Aleksander; Kowalski, Jan

2012-01-01

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is one of the candidate genes for schizophrenia. Polymorphism C-281A (rs28383487) in BDNF gene leads to the reduction of promoter activity in the hippocampal neurons in vitro. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the influence of alleles and genotypes of BDNF C-281A polymorphism on development, as well as the clinical course (age of onset, suicidal behaviour and psychopathology) of paranoid schizophrenia. The psychopathology was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) as subscale scores and also single-item scores. We have also performed the haplotype analysis with val66met BDNF polymorphism, which is known to be involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. We have not found significant differences in the distribution of genotypes and alleles between schizophrenic patients and controls in both the overall analysis, as well as sex stratified. Also, we have not shown statistically significant differences between genotype groups and PANSS scale. However, an association between C-281A polymorphism and time of the first episode of paranoid schizophrenia was revealed. Genotype C/A had been connected with later age of onset of paranoid schizophrenia in men but not in women (p schizophrenia group compared to the controls.

Impaired glutathione synthesis in schizophrenia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gysin, René; Kraftsik, Rudolf; Sandell, Julie

2007-01-01

Schizophrenia is a complex multifactorial brain disorder with a genetic component. Convergent evidence has implicated oxidative stress and glutathione (GSH) deficits in the pathogenesis of this disease. The aim of the present study was to test whether schizophrenia is associated with a deficit...... of GSH synthesis. Cultured skin fibroblasts from schizophrenia patients and control subjects were challenged with oxidative stress, and parameters of the rate-limiting enzyme for the GSH synthesis, the glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL), were measured. Stressed cells of patients had a 26% (P = 0.......002) decreased GCL activity as compared with controls. This reduction correlated with a 29% (P schizophrenia in two...

Electrophysiological Neuroimaging using sLORETA Comparing 100 Schizophrenia Patients to 48 Patients with Major Depression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andy R. Eugene

2015-07-01

Full Text Available In this retrospective of electroencephalograms were to identify a surrogate biomarker for the Dopamine D2 receptors in the brain by comparing patients diagnosed with Schizophrenia taking Atypical Antipsychotics to Depressive patients medicated with Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors. To achieve this, thirty-seconds of resting EEG were spectrally transformed in sLORETA. Three-dimensional statistical non-paramentric maps (SnPM for the sLORETA Global Field Power within each band were then computed. Our results illustrated that the Right Superior Frontal Gyrus (t=2.049, p=0.007, along the dopamine mesolimbic pathway, had higher neuronal oscillations in the delta frequency band in the 100 Schizophrenia patients as compared to the 32-depressive female patients. The comparisons with both the 48 depressive patient cohort or the sixteen male depressive patient cohort did not yield any statistically significant findings. We conclude that the Superior Frontal Gyrus should be investigated as a possible surrogate biomarker for preclinical and clinical drug discovery in neuropharmacology.

The New York High-Risk Project: social and general intelligence in children at risk for schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ott, S L; Spinelli, S; Rock, D; Roberts, S; Amminger, G P; Erlenmeyer-Kimling, L

1998-05-04

Social deficits, as well as low performance on intelligence tests, are known early symptoms of schizophrenia. We studied whether impairment of social intelligence can be detected before the outbreak of the disorder. In the New York High-Risk Project, children at risk for schizophrenia (HRSz) or affective disorder (HRAff) and a normal control group (NC) were studied over the past 26 years. The children are now in mid-adulthood, with known psychiatric outcomes. Developmental and clinical data from childhood can now be related to adulthood diagnoses. We compared mean WISC (or WISC-R) and WAIS (or WAIS-R) scores from childhood and adolescence, and change of IQ, between the risk groups, as well as between the adulthood outcomes. We were specifically interested in the development of social intelligence (the Picture Arrangement and Comprehension subtests). We used logistic regression analyses to generate a model predicting adulthood schizophrenia. IQ at age 9,7 was lower in children with HRSz than with HRAff. Adulthood schizophrenia, compared with major depressive disorder and no psychiatric diagnosis could not be related conclusively to low IQ. This may be a result of the study design, since children with IQ below 70 or behavioral problems were not eligible as study subjects. There was no evidence of lower scores or more decline in social intelligence related to age or group membership (risk or outcome). Subtest-Scatter, a nondirectional measure of the differences between all subtests and Vocabulary, reflecting a lesser difference between crystallized and fluid intelligence, was identified as a significant predictor of adulthood schizophrenia, in the whole group as well as in the HRSz group alone.

Neuroanatomical heterogeneity of schizophrenia revealed by semi-supervised machine learning methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Honnorat, Nicolas; Dong, Aoyan; Meisenzahl-Lechner, Eva; Koutsouleris, Nikolaos; Davatzikos, Christos

2017-12-20

Schizophrenia is associated with heterogeneous clinical symptoms and neuroanatomical alterations. In this work, we aim to disentangle the patterns of neuroanatomical alterations underlying a heterogeneous population of patients using a semi-supervised clustering method. We apply this strategy to a cohort of patients with schizophrenia of varying extends of disease duration, and we describe the neuroanatomical, demographic and clinical characteristics of the subtypes discovered. We analyze the neuroanatomical heterogeneity of 157 patients diagnosed with Schizophrenia, relative to a control population of 169 subjects, using a machine learning method called CHIMERA. CHIMERA clusters the differences between patients and a demographically-matched population of healthy subjects, rather than clustering patients themselves, thereby specifically assessing disease-related neuroanatomical alterations. Voxel-Based Morphometry was conducted to visualize the neuroanatomical patterns associated with each group. The clinical presentation and the demographics of the groups were then investigated. Three subgroups were identified. The first two differed substantially, in that one involved predominantly temporal-thalamic-peri-Sylvian regions, whereas the other involved predominantly frontal regions and the thalamus. Both subtypes included primarily male patients. The third pattern was a mix of these two and presented milder neuroanatomic alterations and comprised a comparable number of men and women. VBM and statistical analyses suggest that these groups could correspond to different neuroanatomical dimensions of schizophrenia. Our analysis suggests that schizophrenia presents distinct neuroanatomical variants. This variability points to the need for a dimensional neuroanatomical approach using data-driven, mathematically principled multivariate pattern analysis methods, and should be taken into account in clinical studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characteristics and heterogeneity of schizoaffective disorder compared with unipolar depression and schizophrenia - a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rink, Lena; Pagel, Tobias; Franklin, Jeremy; Baethge, Christopher

2016-02-01

Comparisons of illness characteristics between patients with schizoaffective disorder (SAD) patients and unipolar depression (UD) are rare, even though UD is one of the most important differential diagnoses of SAD. Also, the variability of illness characteristics (heterogeneity) has not been compared. We compared illness characteristics and their heterogeneity among SAD, UD, and - as another important differential diagnosis - schizophrenia (S). In order to reduce sampling bias we systematically searched for studies simultaneously comparing samples of patients with SAD, UD, and S. Using random effects and Mantel-Haenszel models we estimated and compared demographic, illness course and psychopathology parameters, using pooled standard deviations as a measurement of heterogeneity. Out of 155 articles found by an earlier meta-analysis, 765 screened in Medline, 2738 screened in EMBASE, and 855 screened in PsycINFO we selected 24 studies, covering 3714 patients diagnosed according to RDC, DSM-III, DSM-IIIR, DSM-IV, or ICD-10. In almost all key characteristics, samples with schizoaffective disorders fell between unipolar depression and schizophrenia, with a tendency towards schizophrenia. On average, UD patients were significantly older at illness onset (33.0 years, SAD: 25.2, S: 23.4), more often women (59% vs. 57% vs. 39%) and more often married (53% vs. 39% vs. 27%). Their psychopathology was also less severe, as measured by BPRS, GAS, and HAMD. In demographic and clinical variables heterogeneity was roughly 5% larger in UD than in SAD, and samples of patients with schizophrenia had the lowest pooled heterogeneity. A similar picture emerged in a sensitivity analysis with coefficient of variation as the measurement of heterogeneity. Relative to bipolar disorder there are fewer studies including unipolar patients. No studies based on DSM-5 could be included. Regarding unipolar affective disorder this study confirms what we have shown for bipolar disorders in earlier

Naltrexone and Bupropion Combination Treatment for Smoking Cessation and Weight Loss in Patients With Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyu, Xuechan; Du, Jiang; Zhan, Guilai; Wu, Yujie; Su, Hang; Zhu, Youwei; Jarskog, Fredrik; Zhao, Min; Fan, Xiaoduo

2018-01-01

Objective: The rates of obesity and cigarette smoking are much higher in patients with schizophrenia compared to the general population. This study was to examine whether naltrexone and bupropion combination treatment can help weight loss and smoking cessation in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Obese male schizophrenia patients with current cigarette smoking were randomized to receive adjunctive naltrexone (25 mg/day) and bupropion (300 mg/day) combination or placebo for 24 weeks. Twenty-two patients were enrolled in the study, and 21 patients completed the study (11 in the treatment group, and 10 in the placebo group). Body weight, body mass index (BMI), fasting lipids, smoking urge, expired carbon monoxide (CO) level and cigarettes smoked per week were measured at baseline and week 24. Results: There was no significant difference between two groups in changes in weight, BMI, fasting lipids, or cigarette smoking measures ( p 's > 0.05) Conclusion: Naltrexone and bupropion combination treatment didn't show weight loss or smoking cessation effect in patients with schizophrenia in this pilot study.Implications for future studies were discussed. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02736474.

Premorbid childhood ocular alignment abnormalities and adult schizophrenia-spectrum disorder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schiffman, Jason; Maeda, Justin A; Hayashi, Kentaro

2005-01-01

non-psychotic psychopathology and children who did not develop a mental illness. The mean rank for children in the high-risk group (offspring of parents with schizophrenia) on the eye scale and the strabismus scale was greater than the mean rank for children in the matched control groups (both...... offspring of parents with other non-psychotic disorder and no mental illness), although the results failed to reach statistical significance. Results from this study suggest a premorbid relation between ocular deficits and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders in childhood prior to onset of psychopathology....... All children whose mothers or fathers had a psychiatric diagnosis of schizophrenia comprised the first group (N=90). Children who had at least one parent with a diagnosis other than schizophrenia comprised the first matched control group (N=93). The second control group consisted of children...

Sex differences in neuropsychological performance and social functioning in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaskinn, Anja; Sundet, Kjetil; Simonsen, Carmen; Hellvin, Tone; Melle, Ingrid; Andreassen, Ole A

2011-07-01

To investigate sex differences in neurocognition and social functioning in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and the possible role of sex as a moderator of this relationship. Participants with schizophrenia (60 women/94 men), bipolar I disorder (55 women/51 men), and healthy controls (158 women/182 men) were assessed with an extensive neuropsychological test battery and a social functioning questionnaire. We found significant main effects of sex for neuropsychological tests (p neuropsychological tests (except attention and working memory). Both clinical groups performed below healthy controls for all neuropsychological tests (except attention). Post hoc comparisons of persons with schizophrenia and healthy controls yielded significant interaction effects (p neuropsychological tests (California Verbal Learning Test II [CVLT-II], Color-Word Interference, and Interference/Switching), with men with schizophrenia being disproportionally disadvantaged compared with their female counterparts. Regression analyses investigating sex as a moderator between neurocognition and social functioning showed that neurocognition predicted social functioning in schizophrenia, whereas sex predicted social functioning in healthy controls. Sex was not a moderator in any of the three groups. This study is the first to find neurocognitive sex differences for bipolar disorder and replicated previous findings for schizophrenia. The data did not support the hypothesis that sex is a moderator between neurocognition and social functioning. Clinical implications include the use of different cognitive remediation strategies based on sex. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Ethnicity, goal striving and schizophrenia: a case-control study of three ethnic groups in the United Kingdom.

Science.gov (United States)

Mallett, Rosemarie; Leff, Julian; Bhugra, Dinesh; Takei, Nori; Corridan, Bryan

2004-12-01

The need to achieve is common to all societies, and failure to do so may have a highly detrimental psychological impact. For those on the margins of mainstream society, especially migrants or descendants of migrants, the impact of failed or poor achievements may increase their vulnerability to mental illness. In a prospective study of schizophrenia in three ethnic groups (White, Indian and African-Caribbean) we studied the impact of goal striving and investigated whether the gap between the poor achievement and the high aspirations of members of some minority ethnic groups was potentially a factor contributing to the development of the illness. The patients and age- and sex-matched controls from their respective communities were asked to rate their perceived current levels of achievement and their past and future expectations in five domains--social standing, housing, education, employment and financial status on a 10-point scale. The control subjects from the three ethnic groups scored similarly in most areas, supporting the validity of inter-ethnic comparisons. The gap between achievement and expectations did not appear to cause high disappointment levels in any group, and in fact only in the domain of housing did the African-Caribbean patients assess their current achievement as being significantly lower than that of their matched controls. Poor housing conditions may be one of the risk factors contributing to the high incidence of schizophrenia in African-Caribbeans.

Emotion-cognition interaction in people at familial high risk for schizophrenia: the impact of sex differences.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Laura K; Giuliano, Anthony J; Lee, Erica H; Faraone, Stephen V; Tsuang, Ming T; Seidman, Larry J

2011-11-01

Cognitive deficits are fundamental to schizophrenia, and research suggests that negative emotion abnormally interferes with certain cognitive processes in those with the illness. To a lesser extent, cognitive impairment is found in persons at risk for schizophrenia, but there is limited research on the impact of emotion on cognitive processing in at-risk groups. It is unknown whether interference of negative emotion precedes illness and contributes to vulnerability for the disorder. We studied the extent to which negative emotional information interferes with working memory in 21 adolescent and young adult first-degree relatives of people with schizophrenia and 22 community controls. Groups were comparable in age, sex, education, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Primary measures were n-back tasks varying in cognitive load (1-back, 2-back, 3-back) with emotional faces (neutral, happy, fearful) as stimuli. The control group's response times (RTs) and the women's RTs, regardless of group, differed depending on the emotion condition. In contrast, the RTs of the relatives and of the men, regardless of group, did not differ by emotion. This study is the first to examine emotion-cognition interactions in relatives of individuals with schizophrenia. Reduced efficiency in processing emotional information may contribute to a greater vulnerability for schizophrenia that may be heightened in men. Additional research with larger samples of men and women is needed to test these preliminary findings.

An fMRI study of neuronal activation in schizophrenia patients with and without previous cannabis use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Else-Marie eLøberg

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Previous studies have mostly shown positive effects of cannabis use on cognition in patients with schizophrenia, which could reflect lower neurocognitive vulnerability. There are however no studies comparing whether such cognitive differences have neuronal correlates. Thus, the aim of the present study was to compare whether patients with previous cannabis use differ in brain activation from patients who has never used cannabis. The patients groups were compared on the ability to up-regulate an effort mode network during a cognitive task and down-regulate activation in the same network during a task-absent condition. Task-present and task-absent brain activation was measured by functional magnetic resonance neuroimaging (fMRI. Twenty-six patients with a DSM-IV and ICD-10 diagnosis of schizophrenia were grouped into a previous cannabis user group and a no-cannabis group. An auditory dichotic listening task with instructions of attention focus on either the right or left ear stimulus was used to tap verbal processing, attention and cognitive control, calculated as an aggregate score. When comparing the two groups, there were remaining activations in the task-present condition for the cannabis group, not seen in the no-cannabis group, while there was remaining activation in the task-absent condition for the no-cannabis group, not seen in the cannabis group. Thus, the patients with previous cannabis use showed increased activation in an effort mode network and decreased activation in the default mode network as compared to the no-cannabis group. It is concluded that the present study show some differences in brain activation to a cognitively challenging task between previous cannabis and no-cannabis schizophrenia patients.

Examining frontotemporal connectivity and rTMS in healthy controls: implications for auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Gromann, Paula M; Tracy, Derek K; Giampietro, Vincent; Brammer, Michael J; Krabbendam, Lydia; Shergill, Sukhwinder S

2012-01-01

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been shown to have clinically beneficial effects in altering the perception of auditory hallucinations (AH) in patients with schizophrenia. However, the mode of action is not clear. Recent neuroimaging findings indicate that rTMS has the potential to induce not only local effects but also changes in remote, functionally connected brain regions. Frontotemporal dysconnectivity has been proposed as a mechanism leading to psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia. The current study examines functional connectivity between temporal and frontal brain regions after rTMS and the implications for AH in schizophrenia. A connectivity analysis was conducted on the fMRI data of 11 healthy controls receiving rTMS, compared with 11 matched subjects receiving sham TMS, to the temporoparietal junction, before engaging in a task associated with robust frontotemporal activation. Compared to the control group, the rTMS group showed an altered frontotemporal connectivity with stronger connectivity between the right temporoparietal cortex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the angular gyrus. This finding provides preliminary evidence for the hypothesis that normalizing the functional connectivity between the temporoparietal and frontal brain regions may underlie the therapeutic effect of rTMS on AH in schizophrenia.

Gray matter morphological anomalies in the cerebellar vermis in first-episode schizophrenia patients with cognitive deficits.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jingjuan; Zhou, Li; Cui, Chunlei; Liu, Zhening; Lu, Jie

2017-11-22

Cognitive deficits are a core feature of early schizophrenia. However, the pathological foundations underlying cognitive deficits are still unknown. The present study examined the association between gray matter density and cognitive deficits in first-episode schizophrenia. Structural magnetic resonance imaging of the brain was performed in 34 first-episode schizophrenia patients and 21 healthy controls. Patients were divided into two subgroups according to working memory task performance. The three groups were well matched for age, gender, and education, and the two patient groups were also further matched for diagnosis, duration of illness, and antipsychotic treatment. Voxel-based morphometric analysis was performed to estimate changes in gray matter density in first-episode schizophrenia patients with cognitive deficits. The relationships between gray matter density and clinical outcomes were explored. Patients with cognitive deficits were found to have reduced gray matter density in the vermis and tonsil of cerebellum compared with patients without cognitive deficits and healthy controls, decreased gray matter density in left supplementary motor area, bilateral precentral gyrus compared with patients without cognitive deficits. Classifier results showed GMD in cerebellar vermis tonsil cluster could differentiate SZ-CD from controls, left supplementary motor area cluster could differentiate SZ-CD from SZ-NCD. Gray matter density values of the cerebellar vermis cluster in patients groups were positively correlated with cognitive severity. Decreased gray matter density in the vermis and tonsil of cerebellum may underlie early psychosis and serve as a candidate biomarker for schizophrenia with cognitive deficits.

Genome-wide expression in veterans with schizophrenia further validates the immune hypothesis for schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Fries, Gabriel R; Dimitrov, Dimitre H; Lee, Shuko; Braida, Nicole; Yantis, Jesse; Honaker, Craig; Cuellar, Joe; Walss-Bass, Consuelo

2018-02-01

This study aimed to test whether a dysregulation of gene expression may be the underlying cause of previously reported elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines in veterans with schizophrenia. We performed a genome-wide expression analysis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from veterans with schizophrenia and controls, and our results show that 167 genes and putative loci were differently expressed between groups. These genes were enriched primarily for pathways related to inflammatory mechanisms and formed networks related to cell death and survival, immune cell trafficking, among others, which is in line with previous reports and further validates the inflammatory hypothesis of schizophrenia. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Identification of pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant odors in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamath, Vidyulata; Turetsky, Bruce I; Moberg, Paul J

2011-05-15

Recent work on odor hedonics in schizophrenia has indicated that patients display abnormalities in hedonic judgments of odors in comparison to healthy comparison participants. In the current study, identification accuracy for pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant odors in individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls was examined. Thirty-three schizophrenia patients (63% male) and thirty-one healthy volunteers (65% male) were recruited. The groups were well matched on age, sex, and smoking status. Participants were administered the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test, which was subsequently divided into 16 pleasant, 15 neutral, and 9 unpleasant items. Analysis of identification z-scores for pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant odors revealed a significant diagnosis by valence interaction. Post-hoc analysis revealed that schizophrenia participants made more identification errors on pleasant and neutral odors compared to healthy controls, with no differences observed for unpleasant odors. No effect was seen for sex. The findings from the current investigation suggest that odor identification accuracy in patients is influenced by odor valence. This pattern of results parallels a growing body of literature indicating that patients display aberrant pleasantness ratings for pleasant odors and highlights the need for additional research on the influence of odor valence on olfactory identification performance in individuals with schizophrenia. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevalences of autoimmune diseases in schizophrenia, bipolar I and II disorder, and controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Cremaschi, Laura; Kardell, Mathias; Johansson, Viktoria; Isgren, Anniella; Sellgren, Carl M; Altamura, A Carlo; Hultman, Christina M; Landén, Mikael

2017-12-01

Previous studies on the relationship between autoimmune diseases, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder are mainly based on hospital discharge registers with insufficient coverage of outpatient data. Furthermore, data is scant on the prevalence of autoimmune diseases in bipolar subgroups. Here we estimate the self-reported prevalences of autoimmune diseases in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder type I and II, and controls. Lifetime prevalence of autoimmune diseases was assessed through a structured interview in a sample of 9076 patients (schizophrenia N = 5278, bipolar disorder type I N = 1952, type II N = 1846) and 6485 controls. Comparative analyses were performed using logistic regressions. The prevalence of diabetes type 1 did not differ between groups. Hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism regardless of lithium effects, rheumatoid arthritis, and polymyalgia rheumatica were most common in bipolar disorder. Systemic lupus erythematosus was less common in bipolar disorder than in the other groups. The rate of autoimmune diseases did not differ significantly between bipolar subgroups. We conclude that prevalences of autoimmune diseases show clear differences between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but not between the bipolar subgroups. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Detection of subclinical atherosclerosis and diastolic dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ünsal C

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Cüneyt Ünsal,1 Mustafa Oran,2 Hande Oktay Tureli,3 Seref Alpsoy,4 Sema Yesilyurt,5 Mehtap Arslan,6 Birol Topcu,7 Osman Karakaya,8 Erhan Kurt6 1Department of Psychiatry, Namik Kemal University, School of Medicine, Tekirdag, Turkey; 2Department of Internal Medicine, Namik Kemal University, School of Medicine, Tekirdag, Turkey; 3Department of Cardiology, Bakirkoy Dr Sadi Konuk Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey; 4Department of Cardiology, Namik Kemal University, School of Medicine, Tekirdag, Turkey; 5Department of Psychiatry, Bağcilar Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey; 6Department of Psychiatry, Bakirkoy Training and Research Hospital for Psychiatry Neurology and Neurosurgery, Istanbul, Turkey; 7Department of Biostatistics, Namik Kemal University, School of Medicine, Tekirdag, Turkey; 8Department of Social Service, Yalova University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Yalova, Turkey Background: Patients with schizophrenia have a higher risk for cardiovascular diseases, which is associated with early mortality compared with the nonschizophrenic population. Early diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases in asymptomatic periods in patients with schizophrenia would enhance their quality of life and reduce mortality. Echocardiography, carotid ultrasonography, and ankle brachial index (ABI measurement are known to be beneficial methods of detecting subclinical cardiovascular diseases and of risk stratification. The present study investigated carotid intima media thickness (CIMT and ABI and echocardiographic parameters measured via conventional and tissue Doppler echocardiography in patients with schizophrenia in comparison with a control group. Methods: The present case-control study included 116 patients with schizophrenia and 88 healthy patients. Participants with any current comorbid psychiatric disorder, current or lifetime neurological and medical problems, current coronary artery disease, diabetes

Increased timing variability in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanda R Bolbecker

Full Text Available Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that impaired time perception and the neural circuitry underlying internal timing mechanisms may contribute to severe psychiatric disorders, including psychotic and mood disorders. The degree to which alterations in temporal perceptions reflect deficits that exist across psychosis-related phenotypes and the extent to which mood symptoms contribute to these deficits is currently unknown. In addition, compared to schizophrenia, where timing deficits have been more extensively investigated, sub-second timing has been studied relatively infrequently in bipolar disorder. The present study compared sub-second duration estimates of schizophrenia (SZ, schizoaffective disorder (SA, non-psychotic bipolar disorder (BDNP, bipolar disorder with psychotic features (BDP, and healthy non-psychiatric controls (HC on a well-established time perception task using sub-second durations. Participants included 66 SZ, 37 BDNP, 34 BDP, 31 SA, and 73 HC who participated in a temporal bisection task that required temporal judgements about auditory durations ranging from 300 to 600 milliseconds. Timing variability was significantly higher in SZ, BDP, and BDNP groups compared to healthy controls. The bisection point did not differ across groups. These findings suggest that both psychotic and mood symptoms may be associated with disruptions in internal timing mechanisms. Yet unexpected findings emerged. Specifically, the BDNP group had significantly increased variability compared to controls, but the SA group did not. In addition, these deficits appeared to exist independent of current symptom status. The absence of between group differences in bisection point suggests that increased variability in the SZ and bipolar disorder groups are due to alterations in perceptual timing in the sub-second range, possibly mediated by the cerebellum, rather than cognitive deficits.

Decision-making deficits in patients with chronic schizophrenia: Iowa Gambling Task and Prospect Valence Learning model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim MS

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Myung-Sun Kim,1 Bit-Na Kang,1 Jae Young Lim2 1Department of Psychology, Sungshin Women’s University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 2Department of Psychiatry, Keyo Medical Foundation, Keyo Hospital, Uiwang, Republic of Korea Purpose: Decision-making is the process of forming preferences for possible options, selecting and executing actions, and evaluating the outcome. This study used the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT and the Prospect Valence Learning (PVL model to investigate deficits in risk-reward related decision-making in patients with chronic schizophrenia, and to identify decision-making processes that contribute to poor IGT performance in these patients. Materials and methods: Thirty-nine patients with schizophrenia and 31 healthy controls participated. Decision-making was measured by total net score, block net scores, and the total number of cards selected from each deck of the IGT. PVL parameters were estimated with the Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling scheme in OpenBugs and BRugs, its interface to R, and the estimated parameters were analyzed with the Mann–Whitney U-test.Results: The schizophrenia group received significantly lower total net scores compared to the control group. In terms of block net scores, an interaction effect of group × block was observed. The block net scores of the schizophrenia group did not differ across the five blocks, whereas those of the control group increased as the blocks progressed. The schizophrenia group obtained significantly lower block net scores in the fourth and fifth blocks of the IGT and selected cards from deck D (advantageous less frequently than the control group. Additionally, the schizophrenia group had significantly lower values on the utility-shape, loss-aversion, recency, and consistency parameters of the PVL model. Conclusion: These results indicate that patients with schizophrenia experience deficits in decision-making, possibly due to failure in learning the expected value of each deck

Psychoeducation for schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Jun; Merinder, Lars Bertil; Belgamwar, Madhvi R

2014-01-01

Background Schizophrenia can be a severe and chronic illness characterised by lack of insight and poor compliance with treatment. Psychoeducational approaches have been developed to increase patients’ knowledge of, and insight into, their illness and its treatment. It is supposed that this increased knowledge and insight will enable people with schizophrenia to cope in a more effective way with their illness, thereby improving prognosis. Objectives To assess the effects of psychoeducational interventions compared with standard levels of knowledge provision. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group Trials Register (February 2010). We updated this search November 2012 and added 27 new trials to the awaiting assessment section. Selection criteria All relevant randomised controlled trials focusing on psychoeducation for schizophrenia and/or related serious mental illnesses involving individuals or groups. We excluded quasi-randomised trials. Data collection and analysis At least two review authors extracted data independently from included papers. We contacted authors of trials for additional and missing data. We calculated risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of homogeneous dichotomous data. We used a fixed-effects model for heterogeneous dichotomous data. Where possible we also calculated the numbers needed to treat (NNT), as well as weighted means for continuous data. Main results This review includes a total of 5142 participants (mostly inpatients) from 44 trials conducted between 1988 and 2009 (median study duration ~ 12 weeks, risk of bias - moderate). We found that incidences of non-compliance were lower in the psychoeducation group in the short term (n = 1400, RR 0.52 CI 0.40 to 0.67, NNT 11 CI 9 to 16). This finding holds for the medium and long term. Relapse appeared to be lower in psychoeducation group (n = 1214, RR 0.70 CI 0.61 to 0.81, NNT 9 CI 7 to 14) and this also applied to readmission (n = 206, RR 0.71 CI 0.56 to 0

Febrile seizures and risk of schizophrenia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vestergaard, Mogens; Pedersen, Carsten Bøcker; Christensen, Jakob

2005-01-01

BACKGROUND: Febrile seizure is a benign condition for most children, but experiments in animals and neuroimaging studies in humans suggest that some febrile seizures may damage the hippocampus, a brain area of possible importance in schizophrenia. METHODS: A population-based cohort of all children...... with schizophrenia. A history of febrile seizures was associated with a 44% increased risk of schizophrenia [relative risk (RR)=1.44; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.07-1.95] after adjusting for confounding factors. The association between febrile seizures and schizophrenia remained virtually unchanged when...... restricting the analyses to people with no history of epilepsy. A history of both febrile seizures and epilepsy was associated with a 204% increased risk of schizophrenia (RR=3.04; 95% CI, 1.36-6.79) as compared with people with no such history. CONCLUSIONS: We found a slightly increased risk of schizophrenia...

Standard cardiovascular disease risk algorithms underestimate the risk of cardiovascular disease in schizophrenia: evidence from a national primary care database.

Science.gov (United States)

McLean, Gary; Martin, Julie Langan; Martin, Daniel J; Guthrie, Bruce; Mercer, Stewart W; Smith, Daniel J

2014-10-01

Schizophrenia is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. Although cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction algorithms are widely in the general population, their utility for patients with schizophrenia is unknown. A primary care dataset was used to compare CVD risk scores (Joint British Societies (JBS) score), cardiovascular risk factors, rates of pre-existing CVD and age of first diagnosis of CVD for schizophrenia (n=1997) relative to population controls (n=215,165). Pre-existing rates of CVD and the recording of risk factors for those without CVD were higher in the schizophrenia cohort in the younger age groups, for both genders. Those with schizophrenia were more likely to have a first diagnosis of CVD at a younger age, with nearly half of men with schizophrenia plus CVD diagnosed under the age of 55 (schizophrenia men 46.1% vs. control men 34.8%, pschizophrenia women 28.9% vs. control women 23.8%, prisk factors within the schizophrenia group, only a very small percentage (3.2% of men and 7.5% of women) of those with schizophrenia under age 55 were correctly identified as high risk for CVD according to the JBS risk algorithm. The JBS2 risk score identified only a small proportion of individuals with schizophrenia under the age of 55 as being at high risk of CVD, despite high rates of risk factors and high rates of first diagnosis of CVD within this age group. The validity of CVD risk prediction algorithms for schizophrenia needs further research. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neuropsychological Impairments in Schizophrenia and Psychotic Bipolar Disorder: Findings from the Bipolar-Schizophrenia Network on Intermediate Phenotypes (B-SNIP) Study

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, S. Kristian; Reilly, James L.; Keefe, Richard S.E.; Gold, James M.; Bishop, Jeffrey R.; Gershon, Elliot S.; Tamminga, Carol A.; Pearlson, Godfrey D.; Keshavan, Matcheri S.; Sweeney, John A.

2017-01-01

Objective Familial neuropsychological deficits are well established in schizophrenia but remain less well characterized in other psychotic disorders. This study from the Bipolar-Schizophrenia Network on Intermediate Phenotypes (B-SNIP) consortium 1) compares cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with psychosis, 2) tests a continuum model of cognitive dysfunction in psychotic disorders, 3) reports familiality of cognitive impairments across psychotic disorders, and 4) evaluates cognitive impairment among nonpsychotic relatives with and without cluster A personality traits. Method Participants included probands with schizophrenia (N=293), psychotic bipolar disorder (N=227), schizoaffective disorder (manic, N=110; depressed, N=55), their first-degree relatives (N=316, N=259, N=133, and N=64, respectively), and healthy comparison subjects (N=295). All participants completed the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) neuropsychological battery. Results Cognitive impairments among psychotic probands, compared to healthy comparison subjects, were progressively greater from bipolar disorder (z=−0.77) to schizoaffective disorder (manic z=−1.08; depressed z=−1.25) to schizophrenia (z=−1.42). Profiles across subtests of the BACS were similar across disorders. Familiality of deficits was significant and comparable in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Of particular interest were similar levels of neuropsychological deficits in relatives with elevated cluster A personality traits across proband diagnoses. Nonpsychotic relatives of schizophrenia probands without these personality traits exhibited significant cognitive impairments, while relatives of bipolar probands did not. Conclusions Robust cognitive deficits are present and familial in schizophrenia and psychotic bipolar disorder. Severity of cognitive impairments across psychotic disorders was consistent with a continuum model, in which more prominent affective features and less

The Relationship between Symptom Severity and Low Vitamin D Levels in Patients with Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Doğan Bulut, Süheyla; Bulut, Serdar; Görkem Atalan, Dicle; Berkol, Tonguç; Gürçay, Eda; Türker, Türker; Aydemir, Çiğdem

2016-01-01

In recent years, the relationship between schizophrenia and environmental factors has come into prominence. This study investigated the relationship between vitamin D levels and the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia by comparing vitamin D levels between patients with schizophrenia and a healthy control group. The study included 80 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and 74 age- and sex-matched controls. The Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) were used to evaluate symptom severity. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels of all subjects both patients and healthy controls were analyzed in relation to measurements of symptom severity. There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of age, sex, or physical activity. Their mean 25OHD levels were also similar (23.46±13.98ng/mL for the patient group and 23.69±9.61ng/mL for the control group). But when patients with schizophrenia were grouped based on their vitamin D levels, the results indicated a statistically significant differences between their vitamin D levels and their total SANS, affective flattening, and total SAPS, bizarre behavior and positive formal thought disorder scores (p = 0.019, p = 0.004, p = 0.015, p = 0.009 and p = 0.019, respectively). There is a negative correlation between 25OHD levels and SANS total points (r = -0.232, p = 0.038); a negative correlation for attention points (r = -0.227, p = 0.044) and negative correlation with positive formal thoughts (r = -0.257, p = 0.021). The results of this study show a relationship between lower levels of vitamin D and the occurrence of positive and negative symptoms, along with increased severity of symptoms at lower levels of vitamin D, suggesting that treatment for schizophrenia should include assessment of patients' vitamin D levels. We recommend that patients with schizophrenia should be assessed with regard to their vitamin D levels.

The Relationship between Symptom Severity and Low Vitamin D Levels in Patients with Schizophrenia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Süheyla Doğan Bulut

Full Text Available In recent years, the relationship between schizophrenia and environmental factors has come into prominence. This study investigated the relationship between vitamin D levels and the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia by comparing vitamin D levels between patients with schizophrenia and a healthy control group.The study included 80 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and 74 age- and sex-matched controls. The Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS and the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS were used to evaluate symptom severity. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD levels of all subjects both patients and healthy controls were analyzed in relation to measurements of symptom severity.There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of age, sex, or physical activity. Their mean 25OHD levels were also similar (23.46±13.98ng/mL for the patient group and 23.69±9.61ng/mL for the control group. But when patients with schizophrenia were grouped based on their vitamin D levels, the results indicated a statistically significant differences between their vitamin D levels and their total SANS, affective flattening, and total SAPS, bizarre behavior and positive formal thought disorder scores (p = 0.019, p = 0.004, p = 0.015, p = 0.009 and p = 0.019, respectively. There is a negative correlation between 25OHD levels and SANS total points (r = -0.232, p = 0.038; a negative correlation for attention points (r = -0.227, p = 0.044 and negative correlation with positive formal thoughts (r = -0.257, p = 0.021.The results of this study show a relationship between lower levels of vitamin D and the occurrence of positive and negative symptoms, along with increased severity of symptoms at lower levels of vitamin D, suggesting that treatment for schizophrenia should include assessment of patients' vitamin D levels. We recommend that patients with schizophrenia should be assessed with regard to their vitamin D

The relation between maternal schizophrenia and low birth weight is modified by paternal age.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Herng-Ching; Lee, Hsin-Chien; Tang, Chao-Hsuin; Chen, Yi-Hua

2010-06-01

Paternal characteristics have never been considered in the relation between maternal schizophrenia and adverse pregnancy outcomes. The aim of our study was to consider different paternal ages while investigating the relation between maternal schizophrenia and low birth weight (LBW), using a nationwide population-based dataset. Our study used data from the 2001 to 2003 Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Dataset and birth certificate registry. A total of 543 394 singleton live births were included. We performed multivariate logistic regression analyses to explore the relation between maternal schizophrenia and the risk of LBW, taking different paternal age groups into account (aged 29 years or younger, 30 to 39 years, and 40 years and older), and after adjusting for other characteristics of infant, mother, and father as well as the difference between the parent's ages. Mothers with schizophrenia had a higher percentage of LBW infants than mothers who did not (11.8%, compared with 6.8%). For infants whose mothers had schizophrenia, the adjusted odds ratios of LBW were 1.47 (95% CI 1.02 to 2.27, P paternal age groups of 30 to 39 years and 40 years or older, respectively. However, maternal schizophrenia was not a significant predictor of LBW for infants whose fathers were aged 29 years and younger. The relation between LBW and maternal schizophrenia is modified by paternal age. More attention should be paid to the interaction of paternal characteristics and maternal psychiatric disorders in producing adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Attention in schizophrenia and in epileptic psychosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I.C.J Kairalla

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The adaptive behavior of human beings is usually supported by rapid monitoring of outstanding events in the environment. Some investigators have suggested that a primary attention deficit might trigger symptoms of schizophrenia. In addition, researchers have long discussed the relationship between schizophrenia and the schizophrenia-like psychosis of epilepsy (SLPE. On the basis of these considerations, the objective of the present study was to investigate attention performance of patients with both disorders. Patient age was 18 to 60 years, and all patients had received formal schooling for at least four years. Patients were excluded if they had any systemic disease with neurologic or psychiatric comorbidity, or a history of brain surgery. The computer-assisted TAVIS-2R test was applied to all patients and to a control group to evaluate and discriminate between selective, alternating and sustained attention. The TAVIS-2R test is divided into three parts: one for selective attention (5 min, the second for alternating attention (5 min, and the third for the evaluation of vigilance or sustained attention (10 min. The same computer software was used for statistical analysis of reaction time, omission errors, and commission errors. The sample consisted of 36 patients with schizophrenia, 28 with interictal SLPE, and 47 healthy controls. The results of the selective attention tests for both patient groups were significantly lower than that for controls. The patients with schizophrenia and SLPE performed differently in the alternating and sustained attention tests: patients with SLPE had alternating attention deficits, whereas patients with schizophrenia showed deficits in sustained attention. These quantitative results confirmed the qualitative clinical observations for both patient groups, that is, that patients with schizophrenia had difficulties in focusing attention, whereas those with epilepsy showed perseveration in attention focus.

Occipital Lobe Gray Matter Volume in Male Patients with Chronic Schizophrenia: A Quantitative MRI Study

Science.gov (United States)

Onitsuka, Toshiaki; McCarley, Robert W.; Kuroki, Noriomi; Dickey, Chandlee C.; Kubicki, Marek; Demeo, Susan S.; Frumin, Melissa; Kikinis, Ron; Jolesz, Ferenc A.; Shenton, Martha E.

2008-01-01

Schizophrenia is characterized by deficits in cognition as well as visual perception. There have, however, been few magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of the occipital lobe as an anatomically defined region of interest in schizophrenia. To examine whether or not patients with chronic schizophrenia show occipital lobe volume abnormalities, we measured gray matter volumes for both the primary visual area (PVA) and the visual association areas (VAA) using MRI based neuroanatomical landmarks and three-dimensional information. PVA and VAA gray matter volumes were measured using high-spatial resolution MRI in 25 male patients diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia and in 28 male normal controls. Chronic schizophrenia patients showed reduced bilateral VAA gray matter volume (11%), compared with normal controls, whereas patients showed no group difference in PVA gray matter volume. These results suggest that reduced bilateral VAA may be a neurobiological substrate of some of the deficits observed in early visual processing in schizophrenia. PMID:17350226

[Cognition, schizophrenia and the effect of antipsychotics].

Science.gov (United States)

Stip, E

2006-01-01

In this review, we conclude that cognitive impairments are as important as positive and negative symptoms in the clinical assessment and management of patients with schizophrenia. This is not a comprehensive review, considering that the new Measurement And Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) model will soon provide valuable data. It is however a product of the collective efforts of a French Canadian clinical research team that proposes a synthesis of data of pragmatic interest to clinicians. Medication with improved safety and cognition profile, gene-rally lead to better outcomes by facilitating compliance with drug regimens and rehabilitation programs. In addition, measures of attention and executive function (EF) appear to improve with novel antipsychotics when compared to traditional neuroleptics. Nevertheless, evaluating cognitive performance is not a routine procedure outside the domain of research. For example, procedural learning (PL) -- an important measure of cognitive function -- refers to cognitive and motor learning processes in which execution strategies cannot be explicitly described (ie learning by doing). These actions or procedures are then progressively learned through trial and error until automation of optimal performance is established. Procedural learning is rarely assessed in clinical practice. Inconsistent findings regarding the effects of neuroleptic drugs on PL have been reported. Trials using acute administration of chlorpromazine in normal subjects induced PL deficits, suggesting the direct effect of neuroleptics, presumably via a D(2) dopamine blockade in the striatum. In a recent study by our group, schizophrenia patients, divided into three groups according to their pharmacological treatment (haloperidol, clozapine and risperidone) were compared to normal controls on two PL tasks; a visuomotor learning task (mirror drawing) and a problem solving learning task (Tower of Toronto). No deficits were detected

Preliminary Effectiveness and Sustainability of Group Aerobic Exercise Program in Patients with Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Sol; Ryu, Je-Kwang; Kim, Chan-Hyung; Chang, Jhin-Goo; Lee, Hwa-Bock; Kim, Do-Hoon; Roh, Daeyoung

2016-09-01

The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility and sustained effect of a group aerobic exercise program in patients with schizophrenia. Twenty-four schizophrenic patients participated in a group-based individually tailored 90-minute outdoor cycling session per week for 3 months with intervention to enhance motivation. Physical health was evaluated by anthropometric measures, cardiorespiratory (CR) fitness, and blood tests. Mental health was assessed on self-esteem, interpersonal relationship, quality of life, and global function. Attrition rate for the exercise program was 8.3%. Exercise program significantly increased participant's self-esteem, positive relationship, global function, and quality of life. CR fitness significantly improved after 3 months. At the 9-month follow-up, 6 months after program completion, only in interpersonal relationship change the improved effects were maintained. These findings support the feasibility of group aerobic exercise program with high level of adherence and its long-term benefits in positive relationship change.

Brain network connectivity in individuals with schizophrenia and their siblings.

Science.gov (United States)

Repovs, Grega; Csernansky, John G; Barch, Deanna M

2011-05-15

Research on brain activity in schizophrenia has shown that changes in the function of any single region cannot explain the range of cognitive and affective impairments in this illness. Rather, neural circuits that support sensory, cognitive, and emotional processes are now being investigated as substrates for cognitive and affective impairments in schizophrenia, a shift in focus consistent with long-standing hypotheses about schizophrenia as a disconnection syndrome. Our goal was to further examine alterations in functional connectivity within and between the default mode network and three cognitive control networks (frontal-parietal, cingulo-opercular, and cerebellar) as a basis for such impairments. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging was collected from 40 individuals with DSM-IV-TR schizophrenia, 31 siblings of individuals with schizophrenia, 15 healthy control subjects, and 18 siblings of healthy control subjects while they rested quietly with their eyes closed. Connectivity metrics were compared between patients and control subjects for both within- and between-network connections and were used to predict clinical symptoms and cognitive function. Individuals with schizophrenia showed reduced distal and somewhat enhanced local connectivity between the cognitive control networks compared with control subjects. Additionally, greater connectivity between the frontal-parietal and cerebellar regions was robustly predictive of better cognitive performance across groups and predictive of fewer disorganization symptoms among patients. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that impairments of executive function and cognitive control result from disruption in the coordination of activity across brain networks and additionally suggest that these might reflect impairments in normal pattern of brain connectivity development. Copyright © 2011 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Excess Early Mortality in Schizophrenia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laursen, Thomas Munk; Nordentoft, Merete; Mortensen, Preben Bo

2014-01-01

Schizophrenia is often referred to as one of the most severe mental disorders, primarily because of the very high mortality rates of those with the disorder. This article reviews the literature on excess early mortality in persons with schizophrenia and suggests reasons for the high mortality...... as well as possible ways to reduce it. Persons with schizophrenia have an exceptionally short life expectancy. High mortality is found in all age groups, resulting in a life expectancy of approximately 20 years below that of the general population. Evidence suggests that persons with schizophrenia may...... not have seen the same improvement in life expectancy as the general population during the past decades. Thus, the mortality gap not only persists but may actually have increased. The most urgent research agenda concerns primary candidates for modifiable risk factors contributing to this excess mortality...

Influence of CFH gene on symptom severity of schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang C

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Chen Zhang,1 Qinyu Lv,1 Weixing Fan,2 Wei Tang,3 Zhenghui Yi1 1Schizophrenia Program, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 2Department of Psychiatry, Jinhua Second Hospital, Jinhua, 3Department of Psychiatry, Wenzhou Kanging Hospital, Wenzhou, People’s Republic of China Objective: Recent advances have provided compelling evidence for the role of excessive complement activity in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. In this study, we aimed to detect the association of the gene encoding complement factor H (CFH, a regulator in complement activation, with schizophrenia. Materials and methods: A sample of 1783 individuals with or without schizophrenia was recruited for genetic analysis. Genomic DNA samples were extracted from peripheral blood cells using multiplex polymerase chain reaction and the SNaPshot assay. A Database for Schizophrenia Genetic Research (SZDB was used to detect the association of brain CFH expression with schizophrenia. Next, we performed a genotype–phenotype analysis to identify the relationship between CFH Y402H polymorphism and clinical features of schizophrenia. Results: There was a significant association of hippocampal CFH expression with schizophrenia (P=0.017, whereas this significance did not survive after adjusting for false discovery rate (P=0.105. Comparing the genotype and allele frequencies of the genotyped single-nucleotide polymorphisms between case and control groups showed no significant difference. There were significant differences in the scores of negative symptoms and delayed memory between the patients with C allele and those without C allele (P<0.01 and P=0.04 after Bonferroni correction, respectively. Furthermore, we observed a marginally significant association between the Y402H polymorphism and CFH expression in the hippocampus (P=0.051; however, this significance was lost after multiple testing correction (P=0.51, after Bonferroni correction

Schizophrenia and city life.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, G; David, A; Andréasson, S; Allebeck, P

1992-07-18

Prevalence of schizophrenia and rates of first admission to hospital for this disorder are higher in most modern industrialised cities, and in urban compared with rural areas. The "geographical drift" hypothesis (ie, most schizophrenics tend to drift into city areas because of their illness or its prodrome) has remained largely unchallenged. We have investigated the association between place of upbringing and the incidence of schizophrenia with data from a cohort of 49,191 male Swedish conscripts linked to the Swedish National Register of Psychiatric Care. The incidence of schizophrenia was 1.65 times higher (95% confidence interval 1.19-2.28) among men brought up in cities than in those who had had a rural upbringing. The association persisted despite adjustment for other factors associated with city life such as cannabis use, parental divorce, and family history of psychiatric disorder. This finding cannot be explained by the widely held notion that people with schizophrenia drift into cities at the beginning of their illness. We conclude that undetermined environmental factors found in cities increase the risk of schizophrenia.

Family intervention for schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Pharoah, F M; Mari, J J; Streiner, D

2000-01-01

It has been showed that people with schizophrenia from families that express high levels of criticism, hostility, or over involvement, have more frequent relapses than people with similar problems from families that tend to be less expressive of their emotions. Psychosocial interventions designed to reduce these levels of expressed emotions within families now exist for mental health workers. These interventions are proposed as adjuncts rather than alternatives to drug treatments, and their main purpose is to decrease the stress within the family and also the rate of relapse. To estimate the effects of family psychosocial interventions in community settings for the care of those with schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like conditions compared to standard care. Electronic searches of the Cochrane Library (Issue 2, 1998), the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Register (June 1998), EMBASE (1981-1995) and MEDLINE (1966-1995) were undertaken and supplemented with reference searching of the identified literature. Randomised or quasi-randomised studies were selected if they focused on families of people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and compared community-orientated family-based psychosocial intervention of more than five sessions to standard care. Data were reliably extracted, and, where appropriate and possible, summated. Peto odds ratios (OR), their 95% confidence intervals (CI) and number needed to treat (NNT) were estimated. The reviewers assume that people who died or dropped out had no improvement and tested the sensitivity of the final results to this assumption. Family intervention may decrease the frequency of relapse (one year OR 0.57 CI 0.4-0.8, NNT 6.5 CI 4-14). The trend over time of this main finding is towards the null and some small but negative studies may not have been identified by the search. Family intervention may decrease hospitalisation and encourage compliance with medication but data are few and equivocal. Family intervention does not

Emotional Intelligence deficits in schizophrenia: The impact of non-social cognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Frajo-Apor, Beatrice; Pardeller, Silvia; Kemmler, Georg; Welte, Anna-Sophia; Hofer, Alex

2016-04-01

Previous studies using the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) revealed significant performance deficits across all areas of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls. However, none of these studies has investigated a potential influence of non-social cognition on these findings. 56 schizophrenia outpatients and 84 control subjects were investigated using the MSCEIT and the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). Analyses of covariance were performed with adjustment for the BACS composite score and education. To investigate this issue in more detail, a mediation analysis was conducted. Patients showed significantly lower EI and non-social cognition levels compared to healthy controls. After adjustment for BACS composite score and education, only the group difference in the "managing emotions" branch and thus in the "strategic" EI part of the MSCEIT remained statistically significant, whereas for all other MSCEIT branches (perceiving, using, understanding emotions) statistical significance was lost. The mediation analysis revealed that the difference between schizophrenia patients and controls regarding the MSCEIT total score was almost fully attributable to the mediating effect of non-social cognition. Our findings suggest that in schizophrenia patients EI is largely influenced by non-social cognitive functioning. Only the "managing emotions" branch was found to be independent of non-social cognition. Consequently, non-social cognitive performance was mainly responsible for the observed differences in EI between schizophrenia patients and controls. This has to be taken into account when interpreting MSCEIT data in this population. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Antisaccade performance in schizophrenia patients, their first-degree biological relatives, and community comparison subjects: data from the COGS study.

Science.gov (United States)

Radant, Allen D; Dobie, Dorcas J; Calkins, Monica E; Olincy, Ann; Braff, David L; Cadenhead, Kristin S; Freedman, Robert; Green, Michael F; Greenwood, Tiffany A; Gur, Raquel E; Gur, Ruben C; Light, Gregory A; Meichle, Sean P; Millard, Steve P; Mintz, Jim; Nuechterlein, Keith H; Schork, Nicholas J; Seidman, Larry J; Siever, Larry J; Silverman, Jeremy M; Stone, William S; Swerdlow, Neal R; Tsuang, Ming T; Turetsky, Bruce I; Tsuang, Debby W

2010-09-01

The antisaccade task is a widely used technique to measure failure of inhibition, an important cause of cognitive and clinical abnormalities found in schizophrenia. Although antisaccade performance, which reflects the ability to inhibit prepotent responses, is a putative schizophrenia endophenotype, researchers have not consistently reported the expected differences between first-degree relatives and comparison groups. Schizophrenia participants (n=219) from the large Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS) sample (n=1078) demonstrated significant deficits on an overlap version of the antisaccade task compared to their first-degree relatives (n=443) and community comparison subjects (CCS; n=416). Although mean antisaccade performance of first-degree relatives was intermediate between schizophrenia participants and CCS, a linear mixed-effects model adjusting for group, site, age, and gender found no significant performance differences between the first-degree relatives and CCS. However, admixture analyses showed that two components best explained the distributions in all three groups, suggesting two distinct doses of an etiological factor. Given the significant heritability of antisaccade performance, the effects of a genetic polymorphism is one possible explanation of our results.

Prevalence of dental caries in hospitalized patients with schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đorđević Vladan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background/Aim. It is considered that over 450 million people worldwide suffer from some form of mental disorder. Previous studies in other countries have shown that schizophrenia is among the most frequent. Oral health is significant for general health and should not be separated from mental health. Studies in other countries have shown an increased incidence of carious and extracted teeth, and less incidence of filled teeth in this group of psychiatric patients. The aim of this study was to establish condition of the existing teeth, to determine the prevalence of caries and to consider possible risk factors that contribute to the current oral health status of hospitalized patients with schizophrenia. Methods. The study comprised 190 patients with schizophrenia, hospitalized at the Clinic for Psychiatric Disorders “Dr. Laza Lazarević” in Belgrade, and 190 mentally healthy patients at the Clinic for Periodontology and Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dental Medicine in Belgrade. The decayed, missing, filled (DMF index, sociodemographic and economic characteristics were registered in both groups, as well as characteristics of the primary disease of hospitalized patients with schizophrenia. Results. The value of DMF index (representing the sum of carious, extracted and filled teeth, in the hospitalized patients with schizophrenia was 18.57 ± 7.07 and 12.47 ± 5.64 in the healthy group (p = 0.000. The structure of the DMF index in the study group showed that caries and extracted teeth dominated with 88.1%; in the control group, filled teeth dominated with 55.6%, which was a statistically significant difference for all the three observed variables. Conclusion. Hospitalized patients with schizophrenia had twice as many caries and extracted teeth, and five time less filled teeth than healthy people. The patient’s age and taking antiparkinsonics were established as predictors of the increased DMF index in hospitalized patients with schizophrenia.

Effects of the family schizophrenia psychoeducation program for individuals with recent onset schizophrenia in Viet Nam.

Science.gov (United States)

Ngoc, T N; Weiss, B; Trung, L T

2016-08-01

Although psychoeducation has been found effective for improving the life functioning of patients with schizophrenia in high income countries, there have been relatively few studies of schizophrenia psychoeducation adapted for low and middle-income countries (LMIC), particularly in Southeast Asia. The present study assessed effects of the Family Schizophrenia Psychoeducation Program (FSPP) among Vietnamese patients and their families on the patients' (1) quality of life and (2) medication non-compliance, and the family and patients' (3) stigma towards schizophrenia, and (4) consumer satisfaction. This intervention study involved 59 patients, and their families, from the Da Nang Psychiatric Hospital, randomly assigned to treatment (n=30) or control (n=29) conditions. Control subjects received services as usual (antipsychotic medication); treatment group subjects received the FSPP as well. Blind-rater assessments were conducted at T1 immediately after project enrollment (prior to participating in the FSPP) and at T2 six months later. There were significant treatment effects on: (1) quality of life, (2) stigma, (3) medication compliance, and (4) consumer satisfaction, with all effects favoring the treatment group. Effect sizes were moderate to large. This psychoeducation program appears to reduce stigma, improve quality of life and medication compliance, and increase consumer satisfaction of Vietnamese patients with schizophrenia and their families, beyond the effects of antipsychotic medication. It involves relatively little cost, and it may be useful for it or equivalent programs to be implemented in other hospitals in Viet Nam, and potentially other low-income Asian countries to improve the lives of patients with schizophrenia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Genome-Wide Association Studies Suggest Limited Immune Gene Enrichment in Schizophrenia Compared to 5 Autoimmune Diseases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pouget, Jennie G; Gonçalves, Vanessa F; Spain, Sarah L

2016-01-01

There has been intense debate over the immunological basis of schizophrenia, and the potential utility of adjunct immunotherapies. The major histocompatibility complex is consistently the most powerful region of association in genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of schizophrenia and has been...... in immune genes contributes to schizophrenia. We show that there is no enrichment of immune loci outside of the MHC region in the largest genetic study of schizophrenia conducted to date, in contrast to 5 diseases of known immune origin. Among 108 regions of the genome previously associated...

[Cognitive performance in schizophrenia (paranoid vs residual subtype)].

Science.gov (United States)

Dillon, Carol; Taragano, Fernando; Sarasola, Diego; Iturry, Mónica; Serrano, Cecilia; Raczkowski, Amalia; Allegri, Ricardo

2007-01-01

Several studies refer to the relationship between schizophrenia and cognitive dysfunctions. The most frequent disturbances accepted are the deficits in the executive, memory and verbal tests. However, there are few comparative data about the cognitive functioning of the different subtypes of schizophrenia. Analyze and compare the neuropsychological disturbances present in patients with paranoid and residual schizophrenia. Eleven patients with paranoid schizophrenia, eleven patients with residual schizophrenia (DSM-IV criteria), and thirty one normal subjects matched by age, educational level, and general cognitive level (Mini Mental State Examination (Folstein, 1975), were assessed with a semistructured psychiatric examination and an extensive neuropsychological battery. Significant differences were found in memory, language, and executive functions when schizophrenics were compared with normal subjects. Differences in similarities were found between paranoid and residual schizophrenics. Residual schizophrenics had more disturbances in neuropsychological tests in comparison with paranoid schizophrenics. Schizophrenics demonstrated disturbances in memory, language, executive functions and attention. Residual schizophrenics had more impairment in neuropsychological tests than paranoid schizophrenics.

Schizophrenia: a review of neuropharmacology.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyne, J; Kelly, B D; O'Connor, W T

2004-01-01

The last few decades have seen significant advances in our understanding of the neurochemical basis of schizophrenia. To describe the neurotransmitter systems and nerve circuits implicated in schizophrenia; to compare the neuropharmacology of typical and atypical anti-psychotic agents; and to describe recent developments in the pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia. Relevant pharmacological, neurophysiological and psychiatric literature was examined and reviewed. Schizophrenia is associated with abnormalities of multiple neurotransmitter systems, including dopamine, serotonin, gamma-aminobutyric acid and glutamate. Typical and atypical antipsychotic agents differ in their receptor-binding affinities, which are related to their differing side-effect profiles. Novel therapeutic strategies include normalisation of synaptic dopamine or serotonin levels, serotonin receptor antagonism and modulation of cerebral protein synthesis. The ideal treatment for schizophrenia may not be a single pharmacological agent but several agents that match the different expressions of the illness, in combination with psycho-social interventions.

Memory systems in schizophrenia: Modularity is preserved but deficits are generalized.

Science.gov (United States)

Haut, Kristen M; Karlsgodt, Katherine H; Bilder, Robert M; Congdon, Eliza; Freimer, Nelson B; London, Edythe D; Sabb, Fred W; Ventura, Joseph; Cannon, Tyrone D

2015-10-01

Schizophrenia patients exhibit impaired working and episodic memory, but this may represent generalized impairment across memory modalities or performance deficits restricted to particular memory systems in subgroups of patients. Furthermore, it is unclear whether deficits are unique from those associated with other disorders. Healthy controls (n=1101) and patients with schizophrenia (n=58), bipolar disorder (n=49) and attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder (n=46) performed 18 tasks addressing primarily verbal and spatial episodic and working memory. Effect sizes for group contrasts were compared across tasks and the consistency of subjects' distributional positions across memory domains was measured. Schizophrenia patients performed poorly relative to the other groups on every test. While low to moderate correlation was found between memory domains (r=.320), supporting modularity of these systems, there was limited agreement between measures regarding each individual's task performance (ICC=.292) and in identifying those individuals falling into the lowest quintile (kappa=0.259). A general ability factor accounted for nearly all of the group differences in performance and agreement across measures in classifying low performers. Pathophysiological processes involved in schizophrenia appear to act primarily on general abilities required in all tasks rather than on specific abilities within different memory domains and modalities. These effects represent a general shift in the overall distribution of general ability (i.e., each case functioning at a lower level than they would have if not for the illness), rather than presence of a generally low-performing subgroup of patients. There is little evidence that memory impairments in schizophrenia are shared with bipolar disorder and ADHD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic specificity of poor premorbid adjustment: comparison of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and mood disorder with psychotic features.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarbox, Sarah I; Brown, Leslie H; Haas, Gretchen L

2012-10-01

Individuals with schizophrenia have significant deficits in premorbid social and academic adjustment compared to individuals with non-psychotic diagnoses. However, it is unclear how severity and developmental trajectory of premorbid maladjustment compare across psychotic disorders. This study examined the association between premorbid functioning (in childhood, early adolescence, and late adolescence) and psychotic disorder diagnosis in a first-episode sample of 105 individuals: schizophrenia (n=68), schizoaffective disorder (n=22), and mood disorder with psychotic features (n=15). Social and academic maladjustment was assessed using the Cannon-Spoor Premorbid Adjustment Scale. Worse social functioning in late adolescence was associated with higher odds of schizophrenia compared to odds of either schizoaffective disorder or mood disorder with psychotic features, independently of child and early adolescent maladjustment. Greater social dysfunction in childhood was associated with higher odds of schizoaffective disorder compared to odds of schizophrenia. Premorbid decline in academic adjustment was observed for all groups, but did not predict diagnosis at any stage of development. Results suggest that social functioning is disrupted in the premorbid phase of both schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, but remains fairly stable in mood disorders with psychotic features. Disparities in the onset and time course of social dysfunction suggest important developmental differences between schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Eating habits and nutritional status of patients with affective disorders and schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Stefańska, Ewa; Lech, Magdalena; Wendołowicz, Agnieszka; Konarzewska, Beata; Waszkiewicz, Napoleon; Ostrowska, Lucyna

2017-12-30

The aim of the study was to assess the nutritional value of the food intake in the group of men and women suffering from recurrent affective disorders and schizophrenia, and also to determine the relation between selected nutritional parameters with anthropometric indices defining the nutritional status of the subjects. 219 persons participated in the study (61 patients with recurrent depressive disorders, 60 patients with schizophrenia and 98 healthy volunteers). A24-hour dietary recall was used in the quantitative assessment of the diet. Anthropometric and biochemical measurements as well as body composition analysis were used to assess the nutritional status. It was shown that women with depression and schizophrenia had a significantly higher content of both visceral adipose tissue and subcutaneous adipose tissue as compared with the control group. A diet with a higher content of energy from protein, a higher supply of calcium promoted a lower fat content in the bodies of women suffering from depression (no such relationship was observed in the group of men). In the group of patients with schizophrenia, a diet with a lower supply of energy promoted a lower BMI value, waist circumference, lower waist-hip ratio and a lower fat content in the body. An improper energy structure and an improper content of nutrients can, in the future, contribute to the development of many somatic diseases, thus leading to deterioration of life quality of subjects and preventing the maintenance of mental health.

Schizophrenia in Chinese and U.S. Online News Media: Exploring Cultural Influence on the Mediated Portrayal of Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yiyi; Parrott, Scott

2018-05-01

Drawing on the constructionist framing approach, this quantitative content analysis compares online news coverage of schizophrenia in China and the United States in 2015. Incorporating the concept of individualism-collectivism, this study seeks to unveil the effects of culture on the framing of causes, solutions, responsibility attribution, and discourse types. The findings reveal that the link between cultural orientation and the media's framing of schizophrenia is not simple, as both cross-cultural consistency and differences were observed. In addition, compared to U.S. online media, Chinese online news outlets were more likely to cover schizophrenia episodically, while placing more problem-solving responsibility on society. Moreover, examining stigma and challenge cues, this study also found that schizophrenia was more severely stigmatized in Chinese than in U.S. online news platforms. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Indirect self-destructiveness in individuals with schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Konstantinos Tsirigotis

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: To explore the indirect self-destructiveness syndrome in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Two hundred individuals with paranoid schizophrenia (117 men and 83 women, mean age 37.15 years, all in remission, were examined using the Polish version of the Chronic Self-Destructiveness Scale. Two hundred well-matched healthy individuals served as a control group. Results: The intensity of indirect self-destructiveness was greater in the schizophrenia group than in controls. The intensity of each manifestation was as follows (in decreasing order: helplessness and passiveness in the face of difficulties (A5, personal and social neglects (A3, lack of planfulness (A4, poor health maintenance (A2, transgression and risk (A1. Conclusion: Patients with schizophrenia displayed more behaviors that were indirectly self-destructive than healthy controls; they scored better than healthy controls only on caring for their own health. The patients showed the lowest intensity of behaviors connected with the active form of indirect self-destructiveness, and the highest intensity of behaviors connected with the passive form. These findings may enable delivery of more effective forms of pharmacological and psychosocial help to patients with schizophrenia.

Childhood Schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

... Trouble sleeping Irritability or depressed mood Lack of motivation Strange behavior Substance use Compared with schizophrenia symptoms ... may neglect personal hygiene or appear to lack emotion ― doesn't make eye contact, doesn't change ...

Affect recognition and the quality of mother-infant interaction: understanding parenting difficulties in mothers with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Healy, Sarah J; Lewin, Jona; Butler, Stephen; Vaillancourt, Kyla; Seth-Smith, Fiona

2016-02-01

This study investigated the quality of mother-infant interaction and maternal ability to recognise adult affect in three study groups consisting of mothers with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, mothers with depression and healthy controls. Sixty-four mothers were recruited from a Mother and Baby Unit and local children's centres. A 5-min mother-infant interaction was coded on a number of caregiving variables. Affect recognition and discrimination abilities were tested via a series of computerised tasks. Group differences were found both in measures of affect recognition and in the mother-infant interaction. Mothers with schizophrenia showed consistent impairments across most of the parenting measures and all measures of affect recognition and discrimination. Mothers with depression fell between the mothers with schizophrenia and healthy controls on most measures. However, depressed women's parenting was not significantly poorer than controls on any of the measures, and only showed trends for differences with mothers with schizophrenia on a few measures. Regression analyses found impairments in affect recognition and a diagnosis of schizophrenia to predict the occurrence of odd or unusual speech in the mother-infant interaction. Results add to the growing body of knowledge on the mother-infant interaction in mothers with schizophrenia and mothers with depression compared to healthy controls, suggesting a need for parenting interventions aimed at mothers with these conditions. While affect recognition impairments were not found to fully explain differences in parenting among women with schizophrenia, further research is needed to understand the psychopathology of parenting disturbances within this clinical group.

Is dietary pattern of schizophrenia patients different from healthy subjects?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amani Reza

2007-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There are limited findings about dietary patterns and food preferences among patients suffering from schizophrenia. The main objective of this study was therefore to compare the nutritional pattern of schizophrenia patients with that of matched healthy subjects. Methods The dietary pattern of 30 hospitalized 16–67 years old schizophrenic patients (11 female was compared with that of 30 healthy age and sex matched individuals as control group. Subjects' anthropometric measurements including weight, height and body mass index (BMI, semi-quantitative food frequency (FFQ, medical and food history questionnaires were also collected and FFQs were then scored using Food Guide Pyramid to obtain the dietary scores. Percent body fat (%BF was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA method. Results Female patients had more %BF and lower dietary pattern scores than that of their controls (32 ± 3.6 vs 27.7 ± 4.6 percent and 43.2 ± 11.9 vs 54.5 ± 10.7 points; respectively, p Conclusion Schizophrenia patients have poor nutritional patterns. In particular, female patients have more percent body fat and lower dietary pattern scores compared with their healthy controls. All patients used to consume more fats and sweet drinks frequently. The findings of this study suggest that schizophrenia patients need specific medical nutrition therapies through limiting dietary fats and sugars intakes and weight control. Whether obesity is the consequence of disease, dietary preference or medications used remains to be cleared.

Protein Markers of Neurotransmitter Synthesis and Release in Postmortem Schizophrenia Substantia Nigra.

Science.gov (United States)

Schoonover, Kirsten E; McCollum, Lesley A; Roberts, Rosalinda C

2017-01-01

The substantia nigra (SN) provides the largest dopaminergic input to the brain, projects to the striatum (the primary locus of action for antipsychotic medication), and receives GABAergic and glutamatergic inputs. This study used western blot analysis to compare protein levels of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), glutamate decarboxylase (GAD67), and vesicular glutamate transporters (vGLUT1 and vGLUT2) in postmortem human SN in schizophrenia subjects (n=13) and matched controls (n=12). As a preliminary analysis, the schizophrenia group was subdivided by (1) treatment status: off medication (n=4) or on medication (n=9); or (2) treatment response: treatment resistant (n=5) or treatment responsive (n=4). The combined schizophrenia group had higher TH and GAD67 protein levels than controls (an increase of 69.6%, P=0.01 and 19.5%, P=0.004, respectively). When subdivided by medication status, these increases were found in the on-medication subjects (TH 88.3%, P=0.008; GAD67 40.6%, P=0.003). In contrast, unmedicated schizophrenia subjects had higher vGLUT2 levels than controls (an increase of 28.7%, P=0.041), but vGLUT2 levels were similar between medicated schizophrenia subjects and controls. Treatment-resistant subjects had significantly higher TH and GAD67 levels than controls (an increase of 121.0%, P=0.0003 and 58.7%, P=0.004, respectively). These data suggest increases in dopamine and GABA transmission in the SN in schizophrenia, with a potential relation to treatment and response.

Is semantic verbal fluency impairment explained by executive function deficits in schizophrenia?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arthur A. Berberian

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To investigate if verbal fluency impairment in schizophrenia reflects executive function deficits or results from degraded semantic store or inefficient search and retrieval strategies. Method: Two groups were compared: 141 individuals with schizophrenia and 119 healthy age and education-matched controls. Both groups performed semantic and phonetic verbal fluency tasks. Performance was evaluated using three scores, based on 1 number of words generated; 2 number of clustered/related words; and 3 switching score. A fourth performance score based on the number of clusters was also measured. Results: SZ individuals produced fewer words than controls. After controlling for the total number of words produced, a difference was observed between the groups in the number of cluster-related words generated in the semantic task. In both groups, the number of words generated in the semantic task was higher than that generated in the phonemic task, although a significant group vs. fluency type interaction showed that subjects with schizophrenia had disproportionate semantic fluency impairment. Working memory was positively associated with increased production of words within clusters and inversely correlated with switching. Conclusion: Semantic fluency impairment may be attributed to an inability (resulting from reduced cognitive control to distinguish target signal from competing noise and to maintain cues for production of memory probes.

Factor structure and heritability of endophenotypes in schizophrenia: findings from the Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS-1).

Science.gov (United States)

Seidman, Larry J; Hellemann, Gerhard; Nuechterlein, Keith H; Greenwood, Tiffany A; Braff, David L; Cadenhead, Kristin S; Calkins, Monica E; Freedman, Robert; Gur, Raquel E; Gur, Ruben C; Lazzeroni, Laura C; Light, Gregory A; Olincy, Ann; Radant, Allen D; Siever, Larry J; Silverman, Jeremy M; Sprock, Joyce; Stone, William S; Sugar, Catherine; Swerdlow, Neal R; Tsuang, Debby W; Tsuang, Ming T; Turetsky, Bruce I; Green, Michael F

2015-04-01

Although many endophenotypes for schizophrenia have been studied individually, few studies have examined the extent to which common neurocognitive and neurophysiological measures reflect shared versus unique endophenotypic factors. It may be possible to distill individual endophenotypes into composite measures that reflect dissociable, genetically informative elements. The first phase of the Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS-1) is a multisite family study that collected neurocognitive and neurophysiological data between 2003 and 2008. For these analyses, participants included schizophrenia probands (n=83), their nonpsychotic siblings (n=151), and community comparison subjects (n=209) with complete data on a battery of 12 neurocognitive tests (assessing domains of working memory, declarative memory, vigilance, spatial ability, abstract reasoning, facial emotion processing, and motor speed) and 3 neurophysiological tasks reflecting inhibitory processing (P50 gating, prepulse inhibition and antisaccade tasks). Factor analyses were conducted on the measures for each subject group and across the entire sample. Heritability analyses of factors were performed using SOLAR. Analyses yielded 5 distinct factors: 1) Episodic Memory, 2) Working Memory, 3) Perceptual Vigilance, 4) Visual Abstraction, and 5) Inhibitory Processing. Neurophysiological measures had low associations with these factors. The factor structure of endophenotypes was largely comparable across probands, siblings and controls. Significant heritability estimates for the factors ranged from 22% (Episodic Memory) to 39% (Visual Abstraction). Neurocognitive measures reflect a meaningful amount of shared variance whereas the neurophysiological measures reflect largely unique contributions as endophenotypes for schizophrenia. Composite endophenotype measures may inform our neurobiological and genetic understanding of schizophrenia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nonverbal expressive behaviour in schizophrenia and social phobia.

Science.gov (United States)

Del-Monte, Jonathan; Raffard, Stéphane; Salesse, Robin N; Marin, Ludovic; Schmidt, Richard C; Varlet, Manuel; Bardy, Benoît G; Philippe Boulenger, Jean; Christine Gély-Nargeot, Marie; Capdevielle, Delphine

2013-11-30

Expressive behaviour plays a crucial role in the success of social interactions. Abnormality of expressive behaviour has been reported in interpersonal interactions of patients suffering from schizophrenia and social phobia, two debilitating mental disorders with important social deficits. However, no study has compared the expressive behaviour in these two disorders. Thirty schizophrenia patients, 21 social phobia patients and 30 healthy controls were evaluated and compared on expressive, cognitive and clinical dimensions. Expressive behaviour was assessed using the Motor Affective subscale of the Motor-Affective-Social-Scale (MASS). Covariables include the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the anxiety level Liebowitz-Social-Anxiety-Scale (LSAS) and cognitive tasks. After controlling for depression, schizophrenia and social phobia patients both exhibited significantly fewer expressive behaviours compared to healthy controls. Moreover, our results showed specific signatures: schizophrenia patients performed fewer spontaneous gestures (hand gestures and smiles) whereas social phobia patients had an impaired ability to produce voluntary smiles in comparison to healthy controls. Interestingly, poor social functioning was significantly correlated with a decrease of expressive behaviour for schizophrenia patients. Expressive behaviour is impaired in different ways in social phobia and schizophrenia and is associated in schizophrenia with poorer social functioning. The Motor Affective subscale of the MASS is an interesting tool for assessing the dysfunction of interpersonal expressive behaviour in mental disorders. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stigma toward psychosis and its formulation process: prejudice and discrimination against early stages of schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Baba, Yoko; Nemoto, Takahiro; Tsujino, Naohisa; Yamaguchi, Taiju; Katagiri, Naoyuki; Mizuno, Masafumi

2017-02-01

Stigma toward psychosis can prevent social attendance and help-seeking behavior. Early detection and intervention has been shown to improve patient outcome in schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to reveal the characteristics and formulation process of stigma toward each clinical stage of schizophrenia, taking people's backgrounds into consideration. The participants consisted of three groups: general public, patients with mental illness, and psychiatric professionals. We performed a survey examining stigmas toward people with psychotic-like-experiences (PLE), at-risk mental state for psychosis (ARMS), schizophrenia, or depression. Prejudice was measured using a 21-item questionnaire, and discrimination was measured using the Social Distance Scale. The participants consisted of 149 people from the general public, 97 patients, and 119 psychiatric professionals. Generally, a similar pattern was observed among the groups in which prejudice and discrimination against PLE was mildest, followed by that against ARMS and depression, and finally schizophrenia. When the stigma of the general public was compared with that of psychiatric professionals, the prejudice and discrimination against PLE of the general public were both lower than those of the psychiatric professionals. However, the prejudice of the general public was stronger than that of the professionals for ARMS. Furthermore, the discrimination of the general public was stronger than that of the professionals for schizophrenia. The stigmas of mental illness differed according to the clinical stage, although the pattern of severity was similar among the three groups. A formulation process is suggested in which stigma toward schizophrenia develops from an attitudinal property (prejudice) against ARMS and a behavioral property (discrimination) against schizophrenia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pattern of neural responses to verbal fluency shows diagnostic specificity for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Walshe Muriel

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Impairments in executive function and language processing are characteristic of both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Their functional neuroanatomy demonstrate features that are shared as well as specific to each disorder. Determining the distinct pattern of neural responses in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may provide biomarkers for their diagnoses. Methods 104 participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI scans while performing a phonological verbal fluency task. Subjects were 32 patients with schizophrenia in remission, 32 patients with bipolar disorder in an euthymic state, and 40 healthy volunteers. Neural responses to verbal fluency were examined in each group, and the diagnostic potential of the pattern of the neural responses was assessed with machine learning analysis. Results During the verbal fluency task, both patient groups showed increased activation in the anterior cingulate, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right putamen as compared to healthy controls, as well as reduced deactivation of precuneus and posterior cingulate. The magnitude of activation was greatest in patients with schizophrenia, followed by patients with bipolar disorder and then healthy individuals. Additional recruitment in the right inferior frontal and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortices was observed in schizophrenia relative to both bipolar disorder and healthy subjects. The pattern of neural responses correctly identified individual patients with schizophrenia with an accuracy of 92%, and those with bipolar disorder with an accuracy of 79% in which mis-classification was typically of bipolar subjects as healthy controls. Conclusions In summary, both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are associated with altered function in prefrontal, striatal and default mode networks, but the magnitude of this dysfunction is particularly marked in schizophrenia. The pattern of response to verbal fluency is highly

Tourette syndrome and comorbid early-onset schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerbeshian, Jacob; Peng, Chun-Zi; Burd, Larry

2009-12-01

A study of the shared phenomenology between Tourette syndrome (TS) and schizophrenia. An illustrative case report is presented. We used a chart review of 399 clinically ascertained patients with TS to identify 10 cases meeting criteria for schizophrenia. From our 10 patients, salient clinical characteristics were then tabulated. We then extracted similar clinical characteristics from a previously published series of patients with comorbid TS and schizophrenia in order to combine cases and allow for a comparison between childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS), adolescent-onset schizophrenia (AdolOS), and adult-onset schizophrenia (AduOS) cases in these groups. We found 10 cases of schizophrenia (all were males) in the 399 TS patients for a prevalence rate of 2.5% (95% CI 0.96-4.04). Mean age of tic onset for TS diagnostic criteria ranged from 2-14 years with a mean of 8.2 years. The mean age of diagnosis for schizophrenia was 14.2 (range 9-23 years). We found six cases of schizophrenia with onset of positive psychotic symptoms by 13 years of age, two cases with onset after 13 years of age and before 18 years of age, and two cases with onset after 18 years of age. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was present at a higher rate (70%) than one would expect in a clinically ascertained group of patients with TS. Comparison between COS, AdolOS and AduOS in our pooled cases noted a sex bias skewed toward males. Catatonic symptoms may be more likely in child or adolescent onset cases and negative symptoms more likely in AduOS cases. The 2.5% prevalence of schizophrenia in our TS sample exceeds the 1% expected rate of schizophrenia in the general population (chi-square=9.14; P=.0025). The six cases of COS (before 13 years of age) exceeds the expected rate of 1-2 per 100,000 (chi-square=4499; P=.0001). The 752-fold increase in observed rates of comorbid TS and COS over expected rates suggests a role for unknown common underlying etiologic factors. Based on clinical features

Naltrexone and Bupropion Combination Treatment for Smoking Cessation and Weight Loss in Patients With Schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuechan Lyu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: The rates of obesity and cigarette smoking are much higher in patients with schizophrenia compared to the general population. This study was to examine whether naltrexone and bupropion combination treatment can help weight loss and smoking cessation in patients with schizophrenia.Methods: Obese male schizophrenia patients with current cigarette smoking were randomized to receive adjunctive naltrexone (25 mg/day and bupropion (300 mg/day combination or placebo for 24 weeks. Twenty-two patients were enrolled in the study, and 21 patients completed the study (11 in the treatment group, and 10 in the placebo group. Body weight, body mass index (BMI, fasting lipids, smoking urge, expired carbon monoxide (CO level and cigarettes smoked per week were measured at baseline and week 24.Results: There was no significant difference between two groups in changes in weight, BMI, fasting lipids, or cigarette smoking measures (p's > 0.05Conclusion: Naltrexone and bupropion combination treatment didn't show weight loss or smoking cessation effect in patients with schizophrenia in this pilot study.Implications for future studies were discussed.ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02736474.

Stimulus-dependent effects on right ear advantage in schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Smucny J

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Jason Smucny,1,3 Korey Wylie,3 Jason Tregellas1–31Neuroscience Program, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 2Research Science, Denver VA Medical, Center, 3Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USABackground: When presented with different sounds in each ear (dichotic listening, healthy subjects typically show a preference for stimuli heard in the right ear, an effect termed "right ear advantage". Previous studies examining right ear advantage in schizophrenia have been inconsistent, showing either decreased or increased advantage relative to comparison subjects. Given evidence for enhanced semantic processing in schizophrenia, some of this inconsistency may be due to the type of stimuli presented (words or syllables. The present study examined right ear advantage in patients and controls using both words and syllables as stimuli.Methods: Right ear advantage was compared between 20 patients with schizophrenia and 17 healthy controls. Two versions of the task were used, ie, a consonant-vowel pairing task and a fused rhymed words task.Results: A significant group × task interaction was observed. Relative to healthy controls, patients showed a greater difference on the syllable-based task compared with the word-based task. The number of distractors marked during the syllable-based task was inversely correlated with score on the Global Assessment of Function Scale.Conclusion: The findings are consistent with a left hemisphere dysfunction in schizophrenia, but also suggest that differences may be stimulus-specific, with a relative sparing of the deficit in the context of word stimuli. Performance may be related to measures of social, occupational, and psychological function.Keywords: schizophrenia, right ear advantage, dichotic, distraction

Clinico-Epidemiological Comparison of Delusion-Prominent and Hallucination-Prominent Clinical Subgroups of Paranoid Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kreinin, Anatoly; Krishtul, Vladimir; Kirsh, Zvi; Menuchin, Michael

2015-01-01

Though hallucinations and delusions are prominent basic impairments in schizophrenia, reports of the relationship between hallucinatory and delusional symptoms among schizophrenia patients are scant. To examine the epidemiological and clinical differences between mainly hallucinatory and mainly delusional subgroups of paranoid schizophrenia patients. One hundred schizophrenia patients, paranoid type, were recruited. In a cross-sectional study, participants were divided into Mainly Hallucinatory (H) and Mainly Delusional (D) subgroups. Demographic variables were compared and clinical characteristics were evaluated using the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms, the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms, and the Clinical Global Impression Scale. The Quality-of-Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire-18 was used to assess quality of life. Clinically, the H group was more heterogeneous as expressed by the broader range of scores that described the clinical picture of patients in that subgroup (in 43 of 78 variables, 55.13%) and similar ranges of scores (31 of 78 variables, 39.74%) for patients in the D group. Duration of hospitalization was significantly longer in group H than in group D (p=0.047). There was no statistically significant difference between the H and D subgroups in demographic characteristics. There are distinct epidemiological and clinical differences between the H and D subgroups, with more severe positive and negative symptoms and greater functional impairment in the H group. Paranoid schizophrenia patients with prominent hallucinations have poorer prognosis and need intensive therapeutic rehabilitation beginning with onset-of-illness. Further genetic studies and comparisons of fMRI and/or PET findings are warranted to investigate additional distinctive characteristics of these subgroups.

Intact suppression of increased false recognition in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, Anthony P; Dodson, Chad S; Goff, Donald C; Schacter, Daniel L; Heckers, Stephan

2002-09-01

Recognition memory is impaired in patients with schizophrenia, as they rely largely on item familiarity, rather than conscious recollection, to make mnemonic decisions. False recognition of novel items (foils) is increased in schizophrenia and may relate to this deficit in conscious recollection. By studying pictures of the target word during encoding, healthy adults can suppress false recognition. This study examined the effect of pictorial encoding on subsequent recognition of repeated foils in patients with schizophrenia. The study included 40 patients with schizophrenia and 32 healthy comparison subjects. After incidental encoding of 60 words or pictures, subjects were tested for recognition of target items intermixed with 60 new foils. These new foils were subsequently repeated following either a two- or 24-word delay. Subjects were instructed to label these repeated foils as new and not to mistake them for old target words. Schizophrenic patients showed greater overall false recognition of repeated foils. The rate of false recognition of repeated foils was lower after picture encoding than after word encoding. Despite higher levels of false recognition of repeated new items, patients and comparison subjects demonstrated a similar degree of false recognition suppression after picture, as compared to word, encoding. Patients with schizophrenia displayed greater false recognition of repeated foils than comparison subjects, suggesting both a decrement of item- (or source-) specific recollection and a consequent reliance on familiarity in schizophrenia. Despite these deficits, presenting pictorial information at encoding allowed schizophrenic subjects to suppress false recognition to a similar degree as the comparison group, implying the intact use of a high-level cognitive strategy in this population.

Obsessive compulsive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia on clozapine and with obsessive compulsive disorder: a comparison study.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Doyle, Mairead

2014-01-01

Obsessive compulsive symptoms are commonly reported in those with schizophrenia. Clozapine has previously been reported to induce, aggravate and alleviate these symptoms. It is unclear if these are similar to the symptoms experienced by those with obsessive compulsive disorder. This study describes the obsessive compulsive symptom profile of a population of patients with schizophrenia treated with clozapine (n = 62) and compares this with patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (n = 35). All participants were attending an outpatient community mental health service. The Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (which measures the frequency and associated distress of a range of "behavioural" and "cognitive" symptoms), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and a demographic questionnaire were completed. In addition the schizophrenia group treated with clozapine completed the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. The OCD group reported significantly more symptoms for all OCI subscales compared to the clozapine group. Overall fourteen (22%) of the schizophrenia treated with clozapine group had clinically significant total OCI scores. Two (3%) had documented OCS pre clozapine. De novo OCS was reported in twelve (19%) cases. Nine (11%) had documented OC symptoms pre-clozapine while only two (3%) had symptoms after clozapine was initiated. In terms of OC symptom profile, the clozapine group scored highest on the Doubting scale, a cognitive symptom whereas the OCD group scored highest on Washing, a behavioural symptom. Both groups reported greater distress with cognitive rather than behavioural symptoms. Medication including clozapine dose was not correlated with symptom severity. Anxiety correlated highly with obsessive compulsive symptoms in the Clozapine group but not the OCD group. Within the Clozapine group, Obsessing correlated highly with Unusual Thought Content. Findings suggest that obsessive compulsive symptoms in the Clozapine group may reflect a subtype of \\'schizo

Are oxidative stress markers useful to distinguish schizoaffective disorder from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder?

Science.gov (United States)

Bulbul, Feridun; Virit, Osman; Alpak, Gokay; Unal, Ahmet; Bulut, Mahmut; Kaya, Mehmet Cemal; Altindag, Abdurrahman; Celik, Hakim; Savas, Haluk A

2014-04-01

Schizoaffective disorder is a disease with both affective and psychotic symptoms. In this study, we aimed to compare oxidative metabolism markers of schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenic patients. Furthermore, we also aimed to investigate whether schizoaffective disorder could be differentiated from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in terms of oxidative metabolism. Total oxidant status (TOS) and total antioxidant status (TAS) were measured in the blood samples that were collected from schizoaffective patients (n = 30), bipolar disorder patients (n = 30) and schizophrenic patients (n = 30). Oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated by dividing TOS by TAS. TOS and OSI were found to be higher in patients with schizoaffective disorder compared with those in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder patients. TAS was not significantly different between the groups. Schizoaffective disorder was found to be different from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in terms of oxidative parameters. This result may indicate that schizoaffective disorder could differ from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in terms of biochemical parameters. Increased TOS levels observed in schizoaffective disorder may suggest poor clinical course and may be an indicator of poor prognosis.

Wellness within illness: happiness in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Palmer, Barton W; Martin, Averria Sirkin; Depp, Colin A; Glorioso, Danielle K; Jeste, Dilip V

2014-10-01

Schizophrenia is typically a chronic disorder and among the most severe forms of serious mental illnesses in terms of adverse impact on quality of life. Yet, there have been suggestions that some people with schizophrenia can experience an overall sense of happiness in their lives. We investigated happiness among 72 outpatients with non-remitted chronic schizophrenia with a mean duration of illness of 24.4 years, and 64 healthy comparison subjects (HCs). Despite continued treatment with antipsychotic medications, the individuals with schizophrenia manifested a mild to moderate level of psychopathology. People with schizophrenia reported lower mean levels of happiness than HCs, but there was substantial heterogeneity within the schizophrenia group. Level of happiness in persons with schizophrenia was significantly correlated with higher mental health-related quality of life, and several positive psychosocial factors (lower perceived stress, and higher levels of resilience, optimism, and personal mastery). However, level of happiness was not related to sociodemographic characteristics, duration of illness, severity of positive or negative symptoms, physical function, medical comorbidity, or cognitive functioning. Except for an absence of an association with resilience, the pattern of correlations of happiness with other variables seen among HCs was similar to that in individuals with schizophrenia. Although happiness may be harder to achieve in the context of a serious mental illness, it nonetheless appears to be a viable treatment goal in schizophrenia. Psychotherapies targeting positive coping factors such as resilience, optimism, and personal mastery warrant further investigation. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Age-related practice effects across longitudinal neuropsychological assessments in older people with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Granholm, Eric; Link, Peter; Fish, Scott; Kraemer, Helena; Jeste, Dilip

2010-09-01

The relationship between aging and practice effects on longitudinal neuropsychological assessments was investigated in middle-aged and older people with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Older people with schizophrenia (n = 107; M age = 56.1) and age-comparable nonpsychiatric controls (n = 107; M age = 57.7) were scheduled to receive annual assessments on a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests for an average of 2.5 years (range 11 months to 4 years). Mixed-model analyses were used to separately examine the effects of practice and age on test performance. Number of prior assessments (practice) was associated with significant performance improvement across assessments, whereas older age was associated with significant decline in performance. The groups did not differ significantly in extent of age-related cognitive decline, but a three-way interaction among group, age, and practice was found, such that greater age-related decline in practice effects were found for older people with schizophrenia relative to nonpsychiatric participants. This study did not find any evidence of neurodegenerative age-related decline in neuropsychological abilities in middle-aged and older people with schizophrenia, but older age was associated with diminished ability to benefit from repeated exposure to cognitive tasks in people with schizophrenia. Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia may combine with cognitive decline associated with normal aging to reduce practice effects in older patients. These findings have important implications for the design of studies examining the longitudinal trajectory of cognitive functioning across the life span of people with schizophrenia, as well as clinical trials that attempt to demonstrate cognitive enhancement in these individuals. Copyright 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Reduced connectivity in the self-processing network of schizophrenia patients with poor insight.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edith J Liemburg

Full Text Available Lack of insight (unawareness of illness is a common and clinically relevant feature of schizophrenia. Reduced levels of self-referential processing have been proposed as a mechanism underlying poor insight. The default mode network (DMN has been implicated as a key node in the circuit for self-referential processing. We hypothesized that during resting state the DMN network would show decreased connectivity in schizophrenia patients with poor insight compared to patients with good insight. Patients with schizophrenia were recruited from mental health care centers in the north of the Netherlands and categorized in groups having good insight (n= 25 or poor insight (n = 19. All subjects underwent a resting state fMRI scan. A healthy control group (n = 30 was used as a reference. Functional connectivity of the anterior and posterior part of the DMN, identified using Independent Component Analysis, was compared between groups. Patients with poor insight showed lower connectivity of the ACC within the anterior DMN component and precuneus within the posterior DMN component compared to patients with good insight. Connectivity between the anterior and posterior part of the DMN was lower in patients than controls, and qualitatively different between the good and poor insight patient groups. As predicted, subjects with poor insight in psychosis showed decreased connectivity in DMN regions implicated in self-referential processing, although this concerned only part of the network. This finding is compatible with theories implying a role of reduced self-referential processing as a mechanism contributing to poor insight.

Social cognition in patients with schizophrenia, their unaffected first degree relatives and healthy controls. Comparison between groups and analysis of associated clinical and sociodemographic variables.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez Sosa, Juana Teresa; Gil Santiago, Hiurma; Trujillo Cubas, Angel; Winter Navarro, Marta; León Pérez, Petra; Guerra Cazorla, Luz Marina; Martín Jiménez, José María

2013-01-01

To evaluate and compare the social cognition in patients with schizophrenia, healthy first-degree relatives and controls, by studying the relationship between social cognition and nonsocial cognition, psychopathology, and other clinical and sociodemographic variables. The total sample was comprised of patients diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia (N = 29), healthy first-degree relatives (N = 21) and controls (N = 28). All groups were assessed with an ad hoc questionnaire and a Social Cognition Scale, which assessed the domains: emotional processing, social perception and attributional style in a Spanish population. The patient group was also assessed with the Scale for the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Mini-mental state examination. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS version 15.0. Patients scored significantly worse in all domains of social cognition assessed, compared with controls, and mastery attributional style, compared with relatives. The type of psychopathology correlated negatively and statistically significantly with different domains of social cognition: negative symptoms with emotional processing and attributional style, and positive symptoms with social perception. Basic cognition scores correlated positively and statistically significantly with the domains social perception and attributional style. Social cognition has become an interesting object of study, especially in how it relates to non-social cognition, psychopathology and global functioning of patients, bringing new elements to be considered in the early detection, comprehensive treatment and psychosocial rehabilitation of patients. Its conceptualization as trait variable, the consideration of the existence of a continuum between patients and relatives are plausible hypotheses that require further research. Copyright © 2012 SEP y SEPB. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

A Perspective on a Possible Relation Between the Psychopathology of the Schizophrenia/Schizoaffective Spectrum and Unconjugated Bilirubin: A Longitudinal Protocol Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gama Marques, João; Arantes-Gonçalves, Filipe

2018-01-01

Some authors suggest a relation between Unconjugated Bilirubin (UCB) plasma high levels and schizophrenia, as schizophrenia patients have been showing higher UCB levels when compared with other psychiatric patients and general population. These higher UCB levels have been already correlated with acute psychotic states, positive symptoms, and poor outcome in patients with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders share common symptoms but there aren't yet accepted biomarkers for their distinction. In our study protocol we propose an observational longitudinal study on a sample composed of two subgroups: patients with schizophrenia and patients with schizoaffective disorder. We will compare the UCB levels between groups, and search for a possible correlation with patient's psychopathology. For that purpose we will use nosological, psychopathological, neuropsychological, and psychosocial instruments. Thus we will be testing two different hypotheses: (1) Is UCB serum level a diagnosis indicator, with categorical distinction potential, between groups of patients with different psychotic disorders? (2) Is UCB serum level a severity indicator, with dimensional distinction potential, among groups of patients with the same psychotic disorder? We believe that UCB mean levels may contribute to some clarification of this controversy, as a potential biological indicator, facilitating the distinction between these two diagnostic categories and\\or discriminating the dimensional severity among each of these psychotic conditions. Thus we may be opening a new opportunities for innovative and exciting biological psychiatry research regarding organic aspects in the schizophrenia spectrum.

[The subjective quality of life of patients with schizophrenia: influence of psychopathology and patients' expectations. A comparative study].

Science.gov (United States)

Salomé, F; Petitjean, F; Germain, C; Demant, J-C

2004-01-01

Most studies on the quality of life (Qol) of patients with schizophrenia deal with objective living conditions and how they are perceived by hospitalized patients. The few studies that compare Qol for patients treated in part time services with the Qol of ambulatory patients do not show any significant difference in terms of subjective Qol. Some stu-dies evaluate the influence of psychopathology and needs (or expectations) on the subjective Qol in these groups of patients. Available data indicate that the general well-being is influenced by psychopathology (positive, negative or depressive symptoms) and unmet needs in ambulatory patients. They also show that subjective Qol in certain life domains (social relations, family relations, leisure, health, law and security) is influenced by negative symptoms, anxiety and depression in patients treated in part-time services. The aim of this study is to compare the objective and subjective Qol of patients with schizophrenia treated in part time services (day hospital and day care center) to the Qol of out-patients treated on a purely ambulatory basis (out patient clinic). We studied the Qol of 2 groups of 30 patients with schizophrenia (ICD 10 criteria) treated in various centers. The first group was made of ambulatory patients, the second one was constituted of patients treated in a day hospital or a day care center. Patients were matched for age, duration of illness, number of hospitalizations. The instruments used for rating were the following: Clinical Global Impression (CGI), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), Positive And Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS), Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI-10). The Qol was measured with a french version of the Lancashire Quality Of Life Profile (LQOLP) (Salomé, Germain, Petitjean, Demant and Boyer, 2000). This instrument measures the objective Qol as well as the subjective Qol. It does possess satisfying psychometric properties and offers the possibility to establish Qol profiles. All

Comparative functional neuroanatomy between implicit and explicit memory tasks under negative emotional condition in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Xiao-Li; Kim, Gwang-Won; Moon, Chung-Man; Jeong, Gwang-Woo

To evaluate the brain activation patterns in response to negative emotion during implicit and explicit memory in patients with schizophrenia. Fourteen patients with schizophrenia and 14 healthy controls were included in this study. The 3.0T fMRI was obtained while the subjects performed the implicit and explicit retrievals with unpleasant words. The different predominant brain activation areas were observed during the implicit retrieval and explicit with unpleasant words. The differential neural mechanisms between implicit and explicit memory tasks associated with negative emotional processing in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Comparison between risperidone, an atypical antipsychotic agent and haloperidol, a conventional agent used to treat schizophrenia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rehman, A.; Jawed, M.; Maheshwari, M.P.

2012-01-01

An observational and comparative study was conducted to compare the functional outcome between the patients treated with conventional antipsychotic agent haloperidol and typical antipsychotic agent, Risperidone (Risperidal). A total of 32 patients were included in the study with established schizophrenia according to (DSM iv). The data was processed on SSPE 10th version. The primary outcome measure was the improvement of negative symptoms of schizophrenia and secondary outcome measure was to observe the superiority of the atypical drug Risperid one over conventional agent haloperidol regarding side effects. Patients were assessed at baseline, 2nd and 8th week, using four tools of assessment. For treatment group receiving haloperidol mean was 47.2+-11.50 at 8th week and for Risperidone treatment group mean was 43+-14.68. The P values for all the parameters in the Clozapine group were significant as compared to haloperidol. (author)

Thalamic morphology in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Matthew J; Wang, Lei; Cronenwett, Will; Mamah, Daniel; Barch, Deanna M; Csernansky, John G

2011-03-01

Biomarkers are needed that can distinguish between schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder to inform the ongoing debate over the diagnostic boundary between these two disorders. Neuromorphometric abnormalities of the thalamus have been reported in individuals with schizophrenia and linked to core features of the disorder, but have not been similarly investigated in individuals with schizoaffective disorder. In this study, we examine whether individuals with schizoaffective disorder have a pattern of thalamic deformation that is similar or different to the pattern found in individuals with schizophrenia. T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were collected from individuals with schizophrenia (n = 47), individuals with schizoaffective disorder (n = 15), and controls (n = 42). Large-deformation, high-dimensional brain mapping was used to obtain three-dimensional surfaces of the thalamus. Multiple analyses of variance were used to test for group differences in volume and measures of surface shape. Individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder have similar thalamic volumes. Thalamic surface shape deformation associated with schizophrenia suggests selective involvement of the anterior and posterior thalamus, while deformations in mediodorsal and ventrolateral regions were observed in both groups. Schizoaffective disorder had distinct deformations in medial and lateral thalamic regions. Abnormalities distinct to schizoaffective disorder suggest involvement of the central and ventroposterior medial thalamus which may be involved in mood circuitry, dorsolateral nucleus which is involved in recall processing, and the lateral geniculate nucleus which is involved in visual processing. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of organizational strategy on visual memory in patients with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Myung-Sun; Namgoong, Yoon; Youn, Tak

2008-08-01

The aim of the present study was to examine how copy organization mediated immediate recall among patients with schizophrenia using the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCF). The Boston Qualitative Scoring System (BQSS) was applied for qualitative and quantitative analyses of ROCF performances. Subjects included 20 patients with schizophrenia and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. During the copy condition, the schizophrenia group and the control group differed in fragmentation; during the immediate recall condition, the two groups differed in configural presence and planning; and during the delayed recall condition, they differed in several qualitative measurements, including configural presence, cluster presence/placement, detail presence/placement, fragmentation, planning, and neatness. The two groups also differed in several quantitative measurements, including immediate presence and accuracy, immediate retention, delayed retention, and organization. Although organizational strategies used during the copy condition mediated the difference between the two groups during the immediate recall condition, group also had a significant direct effect on immediate recall. Schizophrenia patients are deficient in visual memory, and a piecemeal approach to the figure and organizational deficit seem to be related to the visual memory deficit. But schizophrenia patients also appeared to have some memory problems, including retention and/or retrieval deficits.

Nicotine-induced activation of caudate and anterior cingulate cortex in response to errors in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Lauren V; Stoeckel, Luke E; Wang, Kristina; Caine, Carolyn E; Villafuerte, Rosemond; Calderon, Vanessa; Baker, Justin T; Ongur, Dost; Janes, Amy C; Evins, A Eden; Pizzagalli, Diego A

2018-03-01

Nicotine improves attention and processing speed in individuals with schizophrenia. Few studies have investigated the effects of nicotine on cognitive control. Prior functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research demonstrates blunted activation of dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) in response to error and decreased post-error slowing in schizophrenia. Participants with schizophrenia (n = 13) and healthy controls (n = 12) participated in a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study of the effects of transdermal nicotine on cognitive control. For each drug condition, participants underwent fMRI while performing the stop signal task where participants attempt to inhibit prepotent responses to "go (motor activation)" signals when an occasional "stop (motor inhibition)" signal appears. Error processing was evaluated by comparing "stop error" trials (failed response inhibition) to "go" trials. Resting-state fMRI data were collected prior to the task. Participants with schizophrenia had increased nicotine-induced activation of right caudate in response to errors compared to controls (DRUG × GROUP effect: p corrected  state functional connectivity analysis, relative to controls, participants with schizophrenia had significantly decreased connectivity between the right caudate and dACC/bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. In sum, we replicated prior findings of decreased post-error slowing in schizophrenia and found that nicotine was associated with more adaptive (i.e., increased) post-error reaction time (RT). This proof-of-concept pilot study suggests a role for nicotinic agents in targeting cognitive control deficits in schizophrenia.

Pronounced prefronto-temporal cortical thinning in schizophrenia: Neuroanatomical correlate of suicidal behavior?

Science.gov (United States)

Besteher, Bianca; Wagner, Gerd; Koch, Kathrin; Schachtzabel, Claudia; Reichenbach, Jürgen R; Schlösser, Ralf; Sauer, Heinrich; Schultz, C Christoph

2016-10-01

Schizophrenia is characterized by increased mortality for which suicidality is the decisive factor. An analysis of cortical thickness and folding to further elucidate neuroanatomical correlates of suicidality in schizophrenia has not yet been performed. We searched for relevant brain regions with such differences between patients with suicide-attempts, patients without any suicidal thoughts and healthy controls. 37 schizophrenia patients (14 suicide-attempters and 23 non-suicidal) and 50 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were included. Suicidality was documented through clinical interview and chart review. All participants underwent T1-weighted MRI scans. Whole brain node-by-node cortical thickness and folding were estimated (FreeSurfer Software) and compared. Additionally a three group comparison for prefrontal regions-of-interest was performed in SPSS using a multifactorial GLM. Compared with the healthy controls patients showed a typical pattern of cortical thinning in prefronto-temporal regions and altered cortical folding in the right medial temporal cortex. Patients with suicidal behavior compared with non-suicidal patients demonstrated pronounced (psuicidal patients with non-suicidal patients significant (psuicidal behaviour in schizophrenia. We identified cortical thinning in a network strongly involved in regulation of impulsivity, emotions and planning of behaviour in suicide attempters, which might lead to neuronal dysregulation in this network and consequently to a higher risk of suicidal behavior. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Decreased Left Putamen and Thalamus Volume Correlates with Delusions in First-Episode Schizophrenia Patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaojun Huang

2017-11-01

Full Text Available BackgroundDelusional thinking is one of the hallmark symptoms of schizophrenia. However, the underlying neural substrate for delusions in schizophrenia remains unknown. In an attempt to further our understanding of the neural basis of delusions, we explored gray matter deficits and their clinical associations in first-episode schizophrenia patients with and without delusions.MethodsTwenty-four first-episode schizophrenia patients with delusions and 18 without delusions as well as 26 healthy controls (HC underwent clinical assessment and whole-brain structural imaging which were acquired a 3.0 T scanner. Voxel-based morphometry was used to explore inter-group differences in gray matter volume using analysis of covariance, and Spearman correlation coefficients (rho between the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS-delusion scores and mean regional brain volumes was obtained.ResultsPatients with delusions showed decreased brain gray matter volumes in the left putamen, thalamus, and caudate regions compared with HC. Patients with delusions also showed decreased regional volume in the left putamen and thalamus compared with patients without delusions. SAPS-delusion scores were negatively correlated with the gray matter volumes of the left putamen and thalamus.DiscussionLeft putamen and thalamus volume loss may be biological correlates of delusions in schizophrenia.

Randomized Clinical Trial with e-MotionalTraining® 1.0 for Social Cognition Rehabilitation in Schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yolanda Maroño Souto

2018-02-01

Full Text Available BackgroundSchizophrenia patients present deficits in social cognition (SC, emotion and social perception, theory of mind (ToM, and attributional style. This study tested the efficacy, in real clinical conditions, of a online self-training program in SC, e-Motional Training®, in comparison with treatment as usual.MethodA randomized single-blinded multicenter clinical trial was conducted with 60 schizophrenia stable outpatients. All patients (control and intervention were treated with drug therapy, case management, and individual and group psychotherapy (not focused on SC. Intervention group was treated with e-Motional Training®, an online program devised for SC rehabilitation.Statistical analysisA descriptive analysis and parametric/non-parametric tests were used to compare both groups at baseline. Analysis of covariance was used to compared post–pre changes in SC between the two interventions. If the group effect was significant, follow-up univariate test (t-test for dependent samples was carried out in each group to verify whether the effect was due to improvement in the intervention group or deterioration in the control group. We considered statistically significant differences with P < 0.05.ResultsSignificant improvements were obtained in the intervention group in emotion recognition and most ToM variables in comparison with the control group.Discussione-Motional Training® seems to be a promising online training tool for SC deficits in schizophrenia, covering the lack of similar intervention instruments in our community.

A simple spatial working memory and attention test on paired symbols shows developmental deficits in schizophrenia patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Wei; Zhang, Kai; Sun, Jinhua; Ma, Lina; Jesse, Forrest Fabian; Teng, Xiaochun; Zhou, Ying; Bao, Hechen; Chen, Shiqing; Wang, Shuai; Yang, Beimeng; Chu, Xixia; Ding, Wenhua; Du, Yasong; Cheng, Zaohuo; Wu, Bin; Chen, Shanguang; He, Guang; He, Lin; Chen, Xiaoping; Li, Weidong

2013-01-01

People with neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia often display deficits in spatial working memory and attention. Evaluating working memory and attention in schizophrenia patients is usually based on traditional tasks and the interviewer's judgment. We developed a simple Spatial Working Memory and Attention Test on Paired Symbols (SWAPS). It takes only several minutes to complete, comprising 101 trials for each subject. In this study, we tested 72 schizophrenia patients and 188 healthy volunteers in China. In a healthy control group with ages ranging from 12 to 60, the efficiency score (accuracy divided by reaction time) reached a peak in the 20-27 age range and then declined with increasing age. Importantly, schizophrenia patients failed to display this developmental trend in the same age range and adults had significant deficits compared to the control group. Our data suggests that this simple Spatial Working Memory and Attention Test on Paired Symbols can be a useful tool for studies of spatial working memory and attention in neuropsychiatric disorders.

Formal thought disorder in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Yalincetin, Berna; Bora, Emre; Binbay, Tolga; Ulas, Halis; Akdede, Berna Binnur; Alptekin, Koksal

2017-07-01

Historically, formal thought disorder has been considered as one of the distinctive symptoms of schizophrenia. However, research in last few decades suggested that there is a considerable clinical and neurobiological overlap between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (BP). We conducted a meta-analysis of studies comparing positive (PTD) and negative formal thought disorder (NTD) in schizophrenia and BP. We included 19 studies comparing 715 schizophrenia and 474 BP patients. In the acute inpatient samples, there was no significant difference in the severity of PTD (d=-0.07, CI=-0.22-0.09) between schizophrenia and BP. In stable patients, schizophrenia was associated with increased PTD compared to BP (d=1.02, CI=0.35-1.70). NTD was significantly more severe (d=0.80, CI=0.52-0.1.08) in schizophrenia compared to BP. Our findings suggest that PTD is a shared feature of both schizophrenia and BP but persistent PTD or NTD can distinguish subgroups of schizophrenia from BP and schizophrenia patients with better clinical outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Validation of the Persian version of the Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale (SCoRS) in patients with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazhari, Shahrzad; Ghafaree-Nejad, Ali R; Soleymani-Zade, Somayeh; Keefe, Richard S E

2017-06-01

The Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale (SCoRS) is an interview-based assessment of cognition that involves interviews with patients and informants. The SCoRS has shown good reliability, validity, and sensitivity to cognitive impairment in schizophrenia, with the advantage of brief administration and scoring time. The present study aimed to test the concurrent validity of the Persian version of the SCoRS. A group of 35 patients with schizophrenia and a group of 35 healthy controls received the Persian-SCoRS in the first session, and a standardized performance-based cognitive battery, the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS), in the second session.Our results indicated that the Persian version of the SCoRS was sensitive to cognitive impairment in the patients. The Persian SCoRS global rating was significantly associated with the composite score generated from the Persian version of the BACS and predicted functional outcomes as measured by Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) and World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHO QOL). A Persian version of the SCoRS, an interview based measure of cognition that included informants, is related to cognitive performance and global functioning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of social anxiety from virtual interpersonal interactions in patients with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Il Ho; Kim, Jae-Jin; Ku, Jeonghun; Jang, Hee Jeong; Park, Sung-Hyouk; Kim, Chan-Hyung; Kim, In Young; Kim, Sun I

2009-01-01

Dysfunctional emotional processing affects social functioning in patients with schizophrenia. However, the relationship between emotional perception and response in social interaction has not been elucidated. Twenty-seven patients with schizophrenia and 27 normal controls performed a virtual reality social encounter task in which they introduced themselves to avatars expressing happy, neutral, or angry emotions while verbal response duration and onset time were measured and perception of emotional valence and arousal, and state anxiety were rated afterwards. Self-reported trait-affective scale scores and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) ratings were also obtained. Patient group significantly underestimated the valence and arousal of angry emotions expressed by an avatar. While valence and arousal ratings of happy avatars were comparable between groups, patient group reported significantly higher state anxiety in response to happy avatars. State anxiety ratings significantly decreased from encounters with neutral to happy avatars in normal controls while no significant decrease was observed in the patient group. The Social Anhedonia Scale and PANSS negative symptom subscale scores (blunted affect, emotional withdrawal, and passive/ apathetic social withdrawal items) were significantly correlated with state anxiety ratings of the encounters with happy avatars. These results suggest that patients with schizophrenia have interference with the experience of pleasure in social interactions which may be associated with negative symptoms.

Relationships between brain-derived neurotrophic factor, clinical symptoms and decision-making in chronic schizophrenia: data from the Iowa Gambling Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hikaru eHori

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF are significantly decreased in patients with schizophrenia and correlate with impairments in cognitive function. However, no study has investigated the relationship between the serum BDNF levels and decision-making. We compared patients with schizophrenia to healthy controls with respect to their decision-making ability and serum BDNF levels. Eighty-six chronic schizophrenia patients and 51 healthy controls participated in this study. We controlled for gender, age, and estimated intelligence quotient (IQ, and we investigated the differences in decision-making performance on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT between the schizophrenia patient and control groups. We also compared the IGT scores, the serum BDNF levels, and the clinical symptoms between the groups. The IGT scores of the schizophrenia patients were lower than those of the controls. A negative correlation was detected between the mean net scores on the trials in the final two blocks and the serum BDNF levels（p<0.05）. Multiple regression analysis revealed that depressive symptoms and the serum BDNF levels were significantly associated with the mean net scores on the trials in the final two blocks. Based on these results, impaired sensitivity to both reward and punishment is associated with depressive symptoms and reduced serum BDNF levels in chronic schizophrenia patients and may be related to their poor performance on the IGT.

Sex-dependent alterations in resting-state cerebral blood flow, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and their coupling relationship in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xiaomei; Wang, Di; Zhou, Yujing; Zhuo, Chuanjun; Qin, Wen; Zhu, Jiajia; Yu, Chunshui

2016-04-01

We aimed to investigate sex-dependent alterations in resting-state relative cerebral blood flow, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and relative cerebral blood flow-amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations coupling in patients with schizophrenia. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and three-dimensional pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling imaging were performed to obtain resting-state amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and relative cerebral blood flow in 95 schizophrenia patients and 99 healthy controls. Sex differences in relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations were compared in both groups. Diagnostic group differences in relative cerebral blood flow, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and relative cerebral blood flow-amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations coupling were compared in male and female subjects, respectively. In both healthy controls and schizophrenia patients, the males had higher relative cerebral blood flow in anterior brain regions and lower relative cerebral blood flow in posterior brain regions than did the females. Compared with multiple regions exhibiting sex differences in relative cerebral blood flow, only the left middle frontal gyrus had a significant sex difference in amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations. In the females, schizophrenia patients exhibited increased relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in the basal ganglia, thalamus and hippocampus and reduced relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in the frontal, parietal and occipital regions compared with those of healthy controls. However, there were fewer brain regions with diagnostic group differences in the males than in the females. Brain regions with diagnostic group differences in relative cerebral blood flow and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations only partially overlapped. Only the female patients exhibited increased relative cerebral

Similar and contrasting dimensions of social cognition in schizophrenia and healthy subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Urvakhsh Meherwan; Thirthalli, Jagadisha; Bhagyavathi, H D; Keshav Kumar, J; Subbakrishna, D K; Gangadhar, Bangalore N; Eack, Shaun M; Keshavan, Matcheri S

2014-08-01

Schizophrenia patients experience substantial impairments in social cognition (SC) and these deficits are associated with their poor functional outcome. Though SC is consistently shown to emerge as a cognitive dimension distinct from neurocognition, the dimensionality of SC is poorly understood. Moreover, comparing the components of SC between schizophrenia patients and healthy comparison subjects would provide specific insights on the construct validity of SC. We conducted principal component analyses of eight SC test scores (representing four domains of SC, namely, theory of mind, emotion processing, social perception and attributional bias) independently in 170 remitted schizophrenia patients and 111 matched healthy comparison subjects. We also conducted regression analyses to evaluate the relative contribution of individual SC components to other symptom dimensions, which are important clinical determinants of functional outcome (i.e., neurocognition, negative symptoms, motivational deficits and insight) in schizophrenia. A three-factor solution representing socio-emotional processing, social-inferential ability and external attribution components emerged in the patient group that accounted for 64.43% of the variance. In contrast, a two-factor solution representing socio-emotional processing and social-inferential ability was derived in the healthy comparison group that explained 56.5% of the variance. In the patient group, the social-inferential component predicted negative symptoms and motivational deficits. Our results suggest the presence of a multidimensional SC construct. The dimensionality of SC observed across the two groups, though not identical, displayed important parallels. Individual components also demonstrated distinct patterns of association with other symptom dimensions, thus supporting their external validity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Regional brain activity during early visual perception in unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Junghee; Cohen, Mark S; Engel, Stephen A; Glahn, David; Nuechterlein, Keith H; Wynn, Jonathan K; Green, Michael F

2010-07-01

Visual masking paradigms assess the early part of visual information processing, which may reflect vulnerability measures for schizophrenia. We examined the neural substrates of visual backward performance in unaffected sibling of schizophrenia patients using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Twenty-one unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients and 19 healthy controls performed a backward masking task and three functional localizer tasks to identify three visual processing regions of interest (ROI): lateral occipital complex (LO), the motion-sensitive area, and retinotopic areas. In the masking task, we systematically manipulated stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). We analyzed fMRI data in two complementary ways: 1) an ROI approach for three visual areas, and 2) a whole-brain analysis. The groups did not differ in behavioral performance. For ROI analysis, both groups increased activation as SOAs increased in LO. Groups did not differ in activation levels of the three ROIs. For whole-brain analysis, controls increased activation as a function of SOAs, compared with siblings in several regions (i.e., anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, inferior prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal lobule). The study found: 1) area LO showed sensitivity to the masking effect in both groups; 2) siblings did not differ from controls in activation of LO; and 3) groups differed significantly in several brain regions outside visual processing areas that have been related to attentional or re-entrant processes. These findings suggest that LO dysfunction may be a disease indicator rather than a risk indicator for schizophrenia. Copyright 2010 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neurological Soft Signs in Schizophrenia: A Meta-analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Raymond C. K.; Xu, Ting; Heinrichs, R. Walter; Yu, Yue; Wang, Ya

2010-01-01

Background: Neurological soft signs (NSS) are hypothesized as candidate endophenotypes for schizophrenia, but their prevalence and relations with clinical and demographic data are unknown. The authors undertook a quantification (meta-analysis) of the published literature on NSS in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. A systematic search was conducted for published articles reporting NSS and related data using standard measures in schizophrenia and healthy comparison groups. Method: A systematic search was conducted for published articles reporting data on the prevalence of NSS in schizophrenia using standard clinical rating scales and healthy comparison groups. Meta-analyses were performed using the Comprehensive Meta-analysis software package. Effect sizes (Cohen d) indexing the difference between schizophrenic patients and the healthy controls were calculated on the basis of reported statistics. Potential moderator variables evaluated included age of patient samples, level of education, sample sex proportions, medication doses, and negative and positive symptoms. Results: A total of 33 articles met inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. A large and reliable group difference (Cohen d) indicated that, on average, a majority of patients (73%) perform outside the range of healthy subjects on aggregate NSS measures. Cognitive performance and positive and negative symptoms share 2%–10% of their variance with NSS. Conclusions: NSS occur in a majority of the schizophrenia patient population and are largely distinct from symptomatic and cognitive features of the illness. PMID:19377058

Advanced paternal age is a risk factor for schizophrenia in Iranians

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mokri Bahareh

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Since 1958 many, but not all studies have demonstrated that paternal age is a risk factor for schizophrenia. There may be many different explanations for differences between studies, including study design, sample size, collection criteria, heterogeneity and the confounding effects of environmental factors that can for example perturb epigenetic programming and lead to an increase in disease risk. The small number of children in Western families makes risk comparisons between siblings born at different paternal ages difficult. In contrast, more Eastern families have children both at early and later periods of life. In the present study, a cross-sectional population study in an Iranian population was performed to compare frequency of schizophrenia in younger offspring (that is, older paternal age versus older offspring. Methods A total of 220 patients with the diagnosis of schizophrenia (cases from both psychiatric hospitals and private clinics and 220 individuals from other hospital wards (controls, matched for sex and age were recruited for this study. Patients with neurological problem, substance abuse, mental retardation and mood disorder were excluded from both groups. Results Birth rank comparisons revealed that 35% vs 24% of the cases vs the controls were in the third or upper birth rank (P = 0.01. Also, the mean age of fathers at birth in case group (30 ± 6.26 years was significantly more than the control group (26.45 ± 5.64 years; P = 0.0001. The age of 76 fathers at birth in case group was over 32 versus 33 fathers in control group. Individuals whose fathers' age was more than 32 (at birth were at higher risk (2.77 times for schizophrenia versus others (P P = 0.02. Logistic regression analysis suggests that maternal age is less likely to be involved in the higher risk of schizophrenia than advanced parental age. Discussion This study demonstrates a relationship between paternal age and schizophrenia in large

Neural Correlates of Automatic and Controlled Auditory Processing in Schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

Morey, Rajendra A.; Mitchell, Teresa V.; Inan, Seniha; Lieberman, Jeffrey A.; Belger, Aysenil

2009-01-01

Individuals with schizophrenia demonstrate impairments in selective attention and sensory processing. The authors assessed differences in brain function between 26 participants with schizophrenia and 17 comparison subjects engaged in automatic (unattended) and controlled (attended) auditory information processing using event-related functional MRI. Lower regional neural activation during automatic auditory processing in the schizophrenia group was not confined to just the temporal lobe, but also extended to prefrontal regions. Controlled auditory processing was associated with a distributed frontotemporal and subcortical dysfunction. Differences in activation between these two modes of auditory information processing were more pronounced in the comparison group than in the patient group. PMID:19196926