Positive schizotypy and Motor Impulsivity correlate with response aberrations in ventral attention network during inhibitory control

Inhibitory control (IC) aberrations are present in various psychopathologies, including schizophrenia spectrum and personality disorders, especially in association with antisocial or violent behaviour. We investigated behavioural and neural associations between IC and psychopathology-related traits of schizotypy [Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE)], psychopathy [Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM)], and impulsivity [Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11)], using a novel Go/No-Go Task (GNG) featuring human avatars in 78 healthy adults (25 males, 53 females; mean age = 25.96 years, SD = 9.85) and whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a separate sample of 22 right-handed healthy individuals (7 males, 15 females; mean age = 24.13 years, SD = 5.40). Behaviourally, O-LIFE Impulsive Nonconformity (impulsive, anti-social, and eccentric behaviour) significantly predicted 16 % of variance in false alarms (FAs). O-LIFE Unusual Experiences (positive schizotypy) and BIS-11 Motor Impulsivity predicted 15 % of d prime (d’) (sensitivity index) for the fastest (400 ms) GNG trials. When examined using fMRI, higher BIS-11 Motor Impulsivity uniquely, and also together with Unusual Experiences, was associated with lower activity in the left lingual gyrus during successful inhibition (correct No-Go over baseline). Additionally, higher Impulsive Nonconformity was associated with lower activity in the caudate nucleus and anterior cingulate during No-Go compared to Go stimuli reactions. Positive schizotypy, motor, and antisocial-schizotypal impulsivity correlate with some common but mostly distinct neural activation patterns during response inhibition in areas within or associated with the ventral attention network

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on forensic mental health services and clinical outcomes: A longitudinal study

Copyright © 2022 Puzzo, Aldridge-Waddon, Stokes, Rainbird and Kumari. Background The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on forensic mental health services provision and implementation. This study aimed to provide an analysis of the impact of COVID-19 related restrictions on routine outcomes within a large forensic mental service in London, UK. Method We conducted a longitudinal cohort study using routinely collected data-sets pre (April 2018 - March 2020) and during the pandemic (March 2020 – March 2021; lockdown periods, January-March 2021, 8th March-May 2020; January-March 2021). We used causal impact models (Bayesian structural time-series) to examine the effect of the COVID-19 related changes in service provision and implementation routine outcomes. Results There was an overall increase in long-term segregation (LTS) hours during the pandemic; 130%, (95% Cl 87%, 171%) during Lockdown 1; 113%, (95% Cl 74%, 151%) during post-Lockdown 1; 157% (95% Cl 116%, 197%) during Lockdown 2 and, finally, 69% (95% Cl 49%, 92%) during Lockdown 3. Non-physical assaults to staff decreased, (-41%, 95% Cl -83%, 0.97%) during Lockdown 1. Physical assaults to staff decreased (-48%, 95% CI -92%, 6.1%) but physical and non-physical assaults to service users (199%, 95% CI 57%, 355%), (199%, 95% CI 59%, 345%), self-harm (325%, 95% Cl 137%, 487%) and enforced medication (140%, 95% Cl 48%, 224%) all increased during Lockdown 3. Overall, the most negative outcome was evident during Lockdown 3. Conclusion The pandemic and its related restrictions have negatively affected some service outcomes resulting in increased incidents of violence and increase in some restrictive interventions beyond what would have been expected had the pandemic not happened

Clarifying the Roles of Schizotypy and Psychopathic Traits in Lexical Decision Performance

Brunel University London College of Health, Medicine, and Life Sciences Doctoral Scholarships; Erasmus Mobility programm

Scenario-specific aberrations of social reward processing in dimensional schizotypy and psychopathy

Data availability: The datasets generated and/or analysed for the investigations reported in this paper are available in the OSF repository, https://osf.io/fp6qb/, https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/FP6QB.Copyright © The Author(s) 2022. The feelings of reward associated with social interaction help to motivate social behaviour and influence preferences for different types of social contact. In two studies conducted in a general population sample, we investigated self-reported and experimentally-assessed social reward processing in personality spectra with prominent interpersonal features, namely schizotypy and psychopathy. Study 1 (n = 154) measured social reward processing using the Social Reward Questionnaire, and a modified version of a Monetary and Social Incentive Delay Task. Study 2 (n = 42; a subsample of Study 1) investigated social reward processing using a Social Reward Subtype Incentive Delay Task. Our results show that schizotypy (specifically Cognitive-Perceptual dimension) and psychopathy (specifically Lifestyle dimension) are associated with diverging responses to social scenarios involving large gatherings or meeting new people (Sociability), with reduced processing in schizotypy and heightened processing in psychopathy. No difference, however, occurred for other social scenarios—with similar patterns of increased antisocial (Negative Social Potency) and reduced prosocial (Admiration, Sociability) reward processing across schizotypy and psychopathy dimensions. Our findings contribute new knowledge on social reward processing within these personality spectra and, with the important exception of Sociability, highlight potentially converging patterns of social reward processing in association with schizotypy and psychopathy.L.A.W and M.V. were supported by Brunel University London College of Health, Medicine, and Life Sciences Doctoral Scholarships and L.E. was supported by Erasmus+ programme

Positive schizotypy and motor impulsivity correlate with response aberrations in ventral attention network during inhibitory control

Supplementary data are available online at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010945223002411#appsec1 .Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Inhibitory control (IC) aberrations are present in various psychopathologies, including schizophrenia spectrum and personality disorders, especially in association with antisocial or violent behaviour. We investigated behavioural and neural associations between IC and psychopathology-related traits of schizotypy [Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE)], psychopathy [Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM)], and impulsivity [Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11)], using a novel Go/No-Go Task (GNG) featuring human avatars in 78 healthy adults (25 males, 53 females; mean age = 25.96 years, SD = 9.85) and whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a separate sample of 22 right-handed healthy individuals (7 males, 15 females; mean age = 24.13 years, SD = 5.40). Behaviourally, O-LIFE Impulsive Nonconformity (impulsive, anti-social, and eccentric behaviour) significantly predicted 16% of variance in false alarms (FAs). O-LIFE Unusual Experiences (positive schizotypy) and BIS-11 Motor Impulsivity predicted 15% of d prime (d’) (sensitivity index) for the fastest (400ms) GNG trials. When examined using fMRI, higher BIS-11 Motor Impulsivity uniquely, and also together with Unusual Experiences, was associated with lower activity in the left lingual gyrus during successful inhibition (correct No-Go over baseline). Additionally, higher Impulsive Nonconformity was associated with lower activity in the caudate nucleus and anterior cingulate during No-Go compared to Go stimuli reactions. Positive schizotypy, motor, and antisocial-schizotypal impulsivity correlate with some common but mostly distinct neural activation patterns during response inhibition in areas within or associated with the ventral attention network.This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors. Martina Vanova and Luke Aldridge-Waddon were supported by Brunel University London, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences Doctoral Scholarships

Distinct neural signatures of schizotypy and psychopathy during visual word-nonword recognition

Data availability statement: The data used in this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Previous behavioural data indicate lower word-nonword recognition accuracy in association with a high level of positive schizotypy, psychopathy, or motor impulsivity traits, each with some unique contribution, in the general population. This study aimed to examine the neural underpinnings of these associations using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a volunteer sample. Twenty-two healthy English-speaking adults completed self-report measures of schizotypy (Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences [O-LIFE]), psychopathy (Triarchic Psychopathy Measure [TriPM]), and impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale [BIS-11]) and underwent whole-brain fMRI while performing a lexical decision task (LDT) featuring high and low-frequency words, real nonwords, and pseudohomophones. Higher positive schizotypy (Unusual Experiences) was associated with lower cerebellum activity during identification of low-frequency words (over real nonwords). Higher Boldness (fearless dominance) and Meanness (callous aggression) facets of psychopathy were associated with lower striatal and posterior cingulate activity when identifying nonwords over words. Higher Motor Impulsivity was associated with lower activity in the fusiform (bilaterally), inferior frontal (right-sided), and temporal gyri (bilaterally) across all stimuli-types over resting baseline. Positive schizotypy, psychopathy, and impulsivity traits influence word-nonword recognition through distinct neurocognitive mechanisms. Positive schizotypy and psychopathy appear to influence LDT performance through brain areas that play only a supportive (cerebellum) or indirect role in reading-related skills. The negative association between Motor Impulsivity and activations typically found for phonological processing and automatic word identification indicates a reduced bilateral integration of the meaning and sound of mental word representations, and inability to select the appropriate outputs, in impulsive individuals.This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors

The Relationship Between Ward Social Climate, Ward Sense of Community, and Incidents of Disruptive Behavior: A Study of a High Secure Psychiatric Sample

Assaults and seclusions within the UK impede patient recovery, and carry a combined UK cost of £126 million a year. Research has identified low ward social climate as a factor that contributes to such institutionalised disruptive behaviour. A related concept, sense of community, has been associated with disruptive behaviour in non-clinical communities, but has not been studied in forensic or psychiatric settings – and thus its contribution to disruptive behaviour in secure psychiatric care is unknown. The current study investigates the relationship between self-reported sense of community and social climate scores with incidents of disruptive behaviour (i.e. assaults and seclusions) within a UK high secure psychiatric hospital. Findings reveal that both social climate and sense of community predict incidents of disruptive behaviour, with hierarchical modelling suggesting that sense of community is the better predictor of disruptive behaviour. This study argues that sense of community should be monitored in high secure hospitals

Reading Skills Deficits in People with Mental Illness: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

All data supporting the meta-analysis reported in this article are available from Brunel University London research repository [Brunel figshare] at https://doi.org/10.17633/rd.brunel.13123334© The Author(s), 2021. Background: Good reading skills are important for appropriate functioning in everyday life, scholastic performance, and the chances of acquiring a higher socio-economic status. We conducted the first systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify possible deficits in specific reading skills in people with a variety of mental illnesses, including personality disorders. Methods: We performed a systematic search of databases (Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Plus, PsycInfo, PsycARTICLES, SocINDEX, MEDLINE, and PubMed) from inception until February 2020 and conducted random-effects meta-analyses. Results: The search yielded 34 studies with standardised assessments of reading skills in people with one or more mental illnesses. Of these, 19 studies provided data for the meta-analysis. Most studies (n=27; meta-analysis, n=17) were in people with schizophrenia and revealed large deficits in phonological processing (Hedge’s g=-0.88, p<0.00001), comprehension (Hedge’s g=-0.96, p<0.00001) and reading rate (Hedge’s g=-1.22, p=0.002), relative to healthy controls; the single-word reading was less affected (Hedge’s g=-0.70, p<0.00001). A few studies in affective disorders and non-forensic personality disorders suggested weaker deficits (for all, Hedge’s g<-0.60). In forensic populations with personality disorders, there was evidence of marked phonological processing (Hedge’s g=-0.85, p<0.0001) and comprehension deficits (Hedge’s g=-0.95, p=0.0003). Conclusions: People with schizophrenia, and possibly forensic populations with personality disorders, demonstrate a range of reading skills deficits. Future studies are needed to establish how these deficits directly compare to those seen in developmental or acquired dyslexia and to explore the potential of dyslexia interventions to improve reading skills in these populations.Brunel University London College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences Doctoral Scholarshipshttps://doi.org/10.17633/rd.brunel.1312333

Atypical social reward anticipation as a transdiagnostic characteristic of psychopathology: A meta-analytic review and critical evaluation of current evidence

Data access statement: all data supporting the meta-analysis reported in this article are available from Brunel University London research repository at https://doi.org/10.17633/rd.brunel.13158104. We have also added this to the supplementary data document in case that is preferable. Appendix A. Supplementary data: Download Word document, https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0272735820301306-mmc1.docx (151KB).https://doi.org/10.17633/rd.brunel.13158104https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0272735820301306-mmc1.doc

Developing ward social climate and sense of community within a high security forensic psychiatric service: Evaluating a sense of community and social climate intervention

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors