Issue highlights
In a prospective matched cohort study, Bourgeois and colleagues examined the prevalence of psychotic disorders in sexually abused persons between the time of abuse and the beginning of adulthood. Sexually abused youth had a 10-fold Increase in risk for psychotic disorders compared to the general population. Identification of risk factors and trajectories of psychopathology In sexually abused youth is critical for prevention and early intervention efforts. (Source: Schizophrenia Research)
Source: Schizophrenia Research - September 1, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: John Torous, Matcheri S. Keshavan Source Type: research
Longitudinal changes in social cognition in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis: An outcome based analysis
Social cognition deficits have been observed in individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis. Longitudinal change in social cognition were analyzed in CHR individuals from the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study (NAPLS2) based on outcome at 24 months. Individuals (n = 359) were classified into remission, symptomatic, prodromal progression and transition to psychosis (CHR-T) groups. Social cognition was assessed using theory of mind, emotion perception, and social perception tasks. (Source: Schizophrenia Research)
Source: Schizophrenia Research - September 1, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: M.K. Shakeel, L. Lu, T.D. Cannon, K.S. Cadenhead, B.A. Cornblatt, T.H. McGlashan, D.O. Perkins, L.J. Seidman, M.T. Tsuang, S.W. Woods, E.F. Walker, D.H. Mathalon, C.E. Bearden, J. Addington Source Type: research
Positive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia: A longitudinal analysis using latent variable structural equation modelling
Recent network models of schizophrenia propose it is the consequence of mutual interaction between its symptoms. While cross-sectional associations between negative and positive symptoms are consistent with this idea, they may merely reflect their involvement in the diagnostic process. Longitudinal analyses however may allow the identification of possible causal relationships. The European Schizophrenia Cohort (EuroSC) provides data suitable for this purpose. (Source: Schizophrenia Research)
Source: Schizophrenia Research - August 31, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Giuseppe Carr à, Cristina Crocamo, Matthias Angermeyer, Traolach Brugha, Mondher Toumi, Paul Bebbington Source Type: research
Widespread white-matter microstructure integrity reduction in first-episode schizophrenia patients after acute antipsychotic treatment
Potential effects of initiating acute antipsychotic treatment on white matter (WM) microstructure in schizophrenia patients remain poorly characterized. Thirty-five drug-na ïve first-episode schizophrenia patients were scanned before and after six weeks of treatment with second-generation antipsychotic medications. Nineteen demographically matched healthy subjects were scanned twice over the same time interval. Tract-based spatial statistics was used to test for chang es in WM microstructural integrity after treatment. (Source: Schizophrenia Research)
Source: Schizophrenia Research - August 31, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Linghui Meng, Kaiming Li, Wenbin Li, Yuan Xiao, Su Lui, John A. Sweeney, Qiyong Gong Source Type: research
Fine motor skill and processing speed deficits in young people with psychotic experiences: A longitudinal study
To identify neuropsychological and motor changes from adolescence to early adulthood in young people with psychotic experiences (PE). (Source: Schizophrenia Research)
Source: Schizophrenia Research - August 30, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Eleanor Carey, Niamh Dooley, Diane Gillan, Colm Healy, Helen Coughlan, Mary Clarke, Ian Kelleher, Mary Cannon Source Type: research
Synaptic plasticity/dysplasticity, process memory and item memory in rodent models of mental dysfunction
Activity-dependent changes in the effective connection strength of synapses are a fundamental feature of a nervous system. This so-called synaptic plasticity is thought to underlie storage of information in memory and has been hypothesized to be crucial for the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy. Synaptic plasticity stores information in a neural network, creating a trace of neural activity from past experience. The plasticity can also change the behavior of the network so the network can differentially transform/compute information in future activations. (Source: Schizophrenia Research)
Source: Schizophrenia Research - August 30, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Kally C. O'Reilly, Maria I. Perica, Andr é A. Fenton Source Type: research
Clinical correlates of aberrant conversational turn-taking in youth at clinical high-risk for psychosis
Studies on speech abnormalities in schizophrenia suggest that atypical turn-taking during conversation is a prominent feature of speech patterns in psychosis. These studies have typically reported inappropriate pause times based on pragmatic rating scales (e.g. Colle et al., 2013). However, these subjective assessments are susceptible to rater bias and provide only a broad perceptual analysis of vocal expression; specific, quantifiable speech parameters cannot be assessed. (Source: Schizophrenia Research)
Source: Schizophrenia Research - August 29, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Laura Sichlinger, Emily Cibelli, Matthew Goldrick, Vijay A. Mittal Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research
Efficacy of cariprazine on negative symptoms in patients with acute schizophrenia: A post hoc analysis of pooled data
Although currently approved antipsychotics exert efficacy on positive symptoms of schizophrenia, treatments for negative symptoms remain a major unmet need. Post hoc analyses were used to investigate the possible efficacy of cariprazine in patients with moderate/severe negative symptoms of schizophrenia and no predominance of positive symptoms. Data were pooled from 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled cariprazine studies in patients with acute schizophrenia (NCT00694707, NCT01104766). (Source: Schizophrenia Research)
Source: Schizophrenia Research - August 29, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Willie Earley, Hua Guo, David Daniel, Henry Nasrallah, Suresh Durgam, Yan Zhong, Mehul Patel, Ágota Barabássy, Balázs Szatmári, György Németh Source Type: research
A plea for a transdiagnostic conceptualization of negative symptoms and for consistent psychiatric vocabulary
When the first author worked in the early 1990s as a student helper in a psychiatric facility, it was regarded as almost diagnostic malpractice to describe any symptoms of a patient with schizophrenia – then called a schizophrenic – as depressive. Following the Kraepelinian dichotomy of dementia praecox/schizophrenia versus manic-depressive illness or depression (Kraepelin, 1899), which was still predominant at that time, many clinicians felt they had to decide between the two. Clearly, the e ntity schizoaffective illness already existed, but such a diagnosis was rejected by many as wishy-washy. (Source: Schizophrenia Research)
Source: Schizophrenia Research - August 29, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Steffen Moritz, Anja Fritzsche, Maike Engel, Jule Meiseberg, Stefan Klingberg, Klaus Hesse Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research
Incorporating music therapy into cognitive remediation to improve both cognitive dysfunction and negative symptoms in schizophrenia
Cognitive dysfunction and negative symptoms make social participation difficult for patients with schizophrenia (Brekke et al., 2009; Green and Nuechterlein, 1999; Ventura et al., 2014). Interestingly, cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia can be improved through cognitive remediation (Cella et al., 2015), which simultaneously facilitates social participation (Katsumi et al., 2017; Wykes et al., 2011). In addition, there is evidence that music therapy can ameliorate negative symptoms (Geretsegger et al., 2017; Ulrich et al., 2007). (Source: Schizophrenia Research)
Source: Schizophrenia Research - August 26, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Naoko Kosugi, Chiaki Oshiyama, Naoki Kodama, Shin-Ichi Niwa Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research
Oscillatory brain dynamics supporting impaired Stroop task performance in schizophrenia-spectrum disorder
The Stroop color-word interference task, prompting slower response to color-incongruent than to congruent items, is often used to study neural mechanisms of inhibitory control and dysfunction in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Inconsistent findings of an augmented Stroop effect limit identification of relevant dysfunctional mechanism(s) in schizophrenia. The present study sought to advance understanding of normal and impaired neural oscillatory dynamics by distinguishing interference detection and response preparation during the Stroop task in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders via analysis of behavioral performance and 4 ...
Source: Schizophrenia Research - August 26, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tzvetan Popov, Thomas Kustermann, Petia Popova, Gregory A. Miller, Brigitte Rockstroh Source Type: research
Vitamin D and clinical symptoms in First Episode Psychosis (FEP): A prospective cohort study
There is a paucity of longitudinal research investigating vitamin D in people with early psychosis. (Source: Schizophrenia Research)
Source: Schizophrenia Research - August 25, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: John Lally, Olesya Ajnakina, Nidhita Singh, Poonam Gardner-Sood, Brendon Stubbs, Dominic Stringer, Marta Di Forti, Anthony S. David, Shubulade Smith, Robin M. Murray, Oliver D. Howes, Fiona Gaughran Source Type: research
A telemedicine platform to improve clinical parameters in paranoid schizophrenia patients: Results of a one-year randomized study
The study objective was to test a smartphone-based MONEO platform designed to improve the clinical condition of paranoid schizophrenia patients. Telemedicine treatment is considered to be as effective as traditional treatment in outpatient clinics. (Source: Schizophrenia Research)
Source: Schizophrenia Research - August 25, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Marek Krzystanek, Mariusz Borkowski, Katarzyna Ska łacka, Krzysztof Krysta Source Type: research
Efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a treatment for persistent hallucinations in patients with schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Hallucinations are common symptoms of schizophrenia, yet 25% to 30% of patients would still continue to experience persistent hallucinations even after continuous pharmacological treatment (Shergill et al., 1998). Studies have thus investigated on the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in reducing the severity of hallucination in patients with psychosis. TDCS is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique. It acts by depolarizing (anodal stimulation) or hyperpolarizing (cathodal stimulation) the neuronal membrane potential by applying a very low-intensity electrical current on scalp. (Source: Schizophrenia Research)
Source: Schizophrenia Research - August 24, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Edwin H.M. Lee, Pik Ying Chan, Eunice Y.L. Law, Jessie J.X. Lin, Christy L.M. Hui, Wing Chung Chang, Sherry K.W. Chan, Eric Y.H. Chen Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research
Clarifying associations between cortical thickness, subcortical structures, and a comprehensive assessment of clinical insight in enduring schizophrenia
The relationship between poor insight and less favorable outcomes in schizophrenia has promoted research efforts to understand its neurobiological basis. Thus far, research on neural correlates of insight has been constrained by small samples, incomplete insight assessments, and a focus on frontal lobes. The purpose of this study was to examine associations of cortical thickness and subcortical volumes, with a comprehensive assessment of clinical insight, in a large sample of enduring schizophrenia patients. (Source: Schizophrenia Research)
Source: Schizophrenia Research - August 24, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Sophie B éland, Carolina Makowski, Susanna Konsztowicz, Lisa Buchy, M. Mallar Chakravarty, Martin Lepage Source Type: research
