Encephale
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The main objective of this study was to support the existence of emotional dimensions common to anxiety and depressive symptomatology, and confirm the common elements of emotional vulnerability, characterized by negative affectivity and alexithymia. The second objective of this study was the identification of characteristics specific to each disorder. We made three assumptions: there is a significant relationship between anxiety and depressive symptoms, exists on community processes between these two entities, objectified by the sub dimensions of negative affectivity and the difficulty in identifying emotions certain dimensions are specific to each disorder. ⋯ Our study reveals the existence of a "common nucleus of vulnerability" characterized by negative affectivity associated with difficulty identifying emotions. Specific dimensions nevertheless appear to exist, and depression is strongly explained by low positive affect (anhedonia dimension); anxiety associated specifically to emotional activation and finally thought outward, marking the size limitation. The imaginary life in alexithymia, appears to operate in depression, perhaps as a mechanism of emotional repression. The involvement of alexithymia in the functioning of the affective disorder is confirmed, this helps to clarify the modalities of therapeutic care that we offer.
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Comparative Study
[Recognition of facial emotions and theory of mind in schizophrenia: could the theory of mind deficit be due to the non-recognition of facial emotions?].
The deficits of recognition of facial emotions and attribution of mental states are now well-documented in schizophrenic patients. However, we don't clearly know about the link between these two complex cognitive functions, especially in schizophrenia. In this study, we attempted to test the link between the recognition of facial emotions and the capacities of mentalization, notably the attribution of beliefs, in health and schizophrenic participants. We supposed that the level of performance of recognition of facial emotions, compared to the working memory and executive functioning, was the best predictor of the capacities to attribute a belief. ⋯ Our results confirmed, in a sample of schizophrenic patients, the deficits in the recognition of facial emotions and in the attribution of mental states. Our new result concerned the demonstration that the performances in the recognition of facial emotions are the best predictor of the performances in the attribution of beliefs. With Marshall et al.'s model on empathy, we can explain this link between the recognition of facial emotions and the comprehension of beliefs.
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Space and motion discomfort (SMD) refers to various symptoms that occur in environments with unreliable visual and kinesthetic information that do not permit adequate spatial orientation. Some studies have demonstrated that there is a stable and predictable relationship between vestibular dysfunction and anxiety disorders. Further, vestibular dysfunction can predispose or trigger the development of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (PD/A) or reinforce phobic avoidance. It therefore seems clinically useful to develop and validate instruments for evaluating SMD in various populations. Measuring SMD could facilitate identification of individuals with PD/A who present comorbid vestibular dysfunction. Jacob et al. developed and validated such a questionnaire: the Situational characteristics questionnaire (SitQ). This questionnaire evaluates the presence of symptoms such as dizziness, vertigo, and instability under specific conditions. The SitQ comprises two subscales that measure SMD and one subscale (agoraphobia) that measures agoraphobic avoidance behaviours. The instrument has two sections. The first section is composed of the SMD-I and agoraphobia subscales, containing 19 and seven items, respectively. Each item consists of two contrasting descriptors of a specific situation or environment. The respondent is required to indicate to what extent the two described situations or environments cause discomfort. Each item includes a "criterion" descriptor for the situation (i.e., a descriptor that is presumed to engender SMD) and an alternative (non-criterion) descriptor. The second section comprises the SMD-II scale; this scale is composed of nine criterion situations, for which non-criterion situations are not supplied. The instrument takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. ⋯ The results of the present study are generally consistent with the results of the validation of the original version of the questionnaire. However, the SMD-I and agoraphobia scales in the French-language version of the measure did not achieve a level of significance sufficient to definitively establish validity.