Psychiatry research
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Psychiatry research · Dec 2015
Altered resting-state functional connectivity in women with chronic fatigue syndrome.
The biological underpinnings of the psychological factors characterizing chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) have not been extensively studied. Our aim was to evaluate alterations of resting-state functional connectivity in CFS patients. Participants comprised 18 women with CFS and 18 age-matched female healthy controls who were recruited from the local community. ⋯ Connectivity strength to the rostral anterior cingulate cortex significantly correlated with the Chalder Fatigue Scale score. Global efficiency of the posterior cingulate cortex was significantly lower in CFS patients, while local efficiency showed no difference from findings in healthy controls. The findings suggest that CFS patients show inefficient increments in resting-state functional connectivity that are linked to the psychological factors observed in the syndrome.
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Psychiatry research · Dec 2015
Deep grey matter MRI abnormalities and cognitive function in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
Although deep grey matter (GM) involvement in multiple sclerosis (MS) is well documented, in-vivo multi-parameter magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies and association with detailed cognitive measures are limited. We investigated volumetric, diffusion and perfusion metrics in thalamus, hippocampus, putamen, caudate nucleus and globus pallidum, and neuropsychological measures, spanning 4 cognitive domains, in 60 relapsing-remitting MS patients (RRMS) (mean disease duration of 5.1 years, median EDSS of 1.5) and 30 healthy controls. ⋯ Decreased volume in these deep GM volumes in RRMS patients was associated with a modest reduction in cognitive performance, particularly information processing speed, consistent with a subtle disruption of distributed networks, that subserve cognition, in these patients. Future longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate the influence of deep GM changes on the evolution of cognitive deficits in MS.
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Psychiatry research · Dec 2015
Intrusive prospective imagery, posttraumatic intrusions and anxiety in schizophrenia.
Trauma exposure and intrusive thoughts are commonly reported in both schizophrenia and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Information processing accounts suggest that intrusions occur in the two conditions as a result of insufficient state and/or trait contextual processing in long-term memory. Most research has focused on intrusions about past events, while growing evidence suggests that intrusions about prospective imagined events warrants further investigation. ⋯ Patients reported significantly more intrusive prospective imagery relative to control participants but, importantly, not greater use of general non-affective imagery. Intrusive prospective imagery was associated with posttraumatic intrusions and anxiety in schizophrenia. The findings are consistent with information processing models of intrusions and psychosis, and provide novel insights for theoretical accounts, clinical formulation and therapeutic targets for psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia.
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Psychiatry research · Dec 2015
Effect of hopelessness on the links between psychiatric symptoms and suicidality in a vulnerable population at risk of suicide.
The aim of this study was to examine the impact of two risk factors working together on a measure of suicide probability in a highly vulnerable group who were male prisoners identified as being at risk of self harm. The first risk factor was psychiatric symptoms, including general psychiatric symptoms and symptoms of personality disorder. The second risk factor was psychological precursors of suicidal thoughts and behaviours which were defeat, entrapment, and hopelessness. ⋯ These amplification effects acted most strongly on suicidal ideation as opposed to negative self evaluations or hostility. In contrast, defeat, entrapment and hopelessness did not affect the relationship between personality disorders and suicide probability. Clinical assessments of highly vulnerable individuals, as exemplified by prisoners, should include measures of a range of general psychiatric symptoms, together with measures of psychological components, in particular perceptions of hopelessness.
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Psychiatry research · Dec 2015
Multicenter StudyNeurophysiological evidence for diminished monitoring of own, but intact monitoring of other's errors in schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is characterized by social deficits. Correctly monitoring own and others' performance is crucial for efficient social behavior. Deficits in monitoring own performance as reflected in reduced error-related negativity (rERN) amplitudes, have been demonstrated repeatedly in schizophrenia. ⋯ While monitoring own performance is compromised in schizophrenia, monitoring others' performance seems intact. This divergence between internal and external performance monitoring in patients is in line with studies showing normal neurophysiological responses to negative feedback. The presently found dissociation may improve our understanding of cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying monitoring of own and others' performance and may stimulate treatment development aimed at learning from external rather than internal error information in schizophrenia.