Psychological medicine
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Psychological medicine · Feb 2016
Brain substrates of perceived spatial separation between speech sources under simulated reverberant listening conditions in schizophrenia.
People with schizophrenia recognize speech poorly under multiple-people-talking (informational masking) conditions. In reverberant environments, direct-wave signals from a speech source are perceptually integrated with the source reflections (the precedence effect), forming perceived spatial separation (PSS) between different sources and consequently improving target-speech recognition against informational masking. However, the brain substrates underlying the schizophrenia-related vulnerability to informational masking and whether schizophrenia affects the unmasking effect of PSS are largely unknown. ⋯ Introducing the PSS listening condition efficiently reveals both the brain substrates underlying schizophrenia-related speech-recognition deficits against informational masking and the schizophrenia-related neural compensatory strategy for impaired SPL functions.
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Psychological medicine · Feb 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialSingle i.v. ketamine augmentation of newly initiated escitalopram for major depression: results from a randomized, placebo-controlled 4-week study.
While oral antidepressants reach efficacy after weeks, single-dose intravenous (i.v.) ketamine has rapid, yet time-limited antidepressant effects. We aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of single-dose i.v. ketamine augmentation of escitalopram in major depressive disorder (MDD). ⋯ Single-dose i.v. ketamine augmentation of escitalopram was safe and effective in severe MDD, holding promise for speeding up early oral antidepressant efficacy.
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Psychological medicine · Jan 2016
Synergistic effect between back pain and common mental disorders and the risk of future disability pension: a nationwide study from Sweden.
The aim of this study was to analyse a possible synergistic effect between back pain and common mental disorders (CMDs) in relation to future disability pension (DP). ⋯ Co-morbidity of back pain and CMD is associated with a higher risk of DP than either individual condition, when added up, which has possible clinical implications to prevent further disability and exclusion from the labour market.
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Psychological medicine · Jan 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialAcceptance and commitment group therapy (ACT-G) for health anxiety: a randomized controlled trial.
Severe health anxiety is frequent and costly, yet rarely diagnosed or treated. Earlier treatment studies show problems with recruitment, dropout and recovery. In the current study, the authors aimed to test the effect of acceptance and commitment group therapy (ACT-G) compared to waitlist in patients with severe health anxiety. ⋯ ACT-G seems feasible, acceptable and effective in treating severe health anxiety.
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Psychological medicine · Dec 2015
Comparative StudyComparing cohort incidence of schizophrenia with that of bipolar disorder and affective psychosis in individuals born in Stockholm County 1955-1967.
Perinatal factors are associated with increased risk for both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Improvements in obstetric and maternal healthcare and positive socioeconomic development in Sweden from the 1950s onwards could be expected to affect incidence estimates. However, commonly incidence rates are calculated during a specific year, i.e. time of diagnosis, which mirrors proximal precipitating risk factors. To examine whether incidence estimates are compatible with the hypothesis of an impact of perinatal exposures on the risk of the different disorders we here instead calculate incidence rates for consecutive birth cohorts born between 1955 and 1967. We hypothesized that schizophrenia incidence would be more affected compared to bipolar disorder and other affective psychoses since most perinatal risk factors are more pronounced in schizophrenia aetiology. ⋯ The consecutive birth cohort-based incidence estimates unveiled patterns that are compatible with the hypothesis of an impact of early life exposures decreasing over time, in the aetiology of schizophrenia, whereas this pattern is less apparent in affective psychoses..