Suicidal Behavior in a Patient with Burning Mouth Syndrome

Introduction. Chronic pain of the oral cavity is a long-term condition and like all other types of chronic pain is associated with numerous comorbidities such as depression or anxiety. Case Presentation. This is a case of a 93-year-old patient suffering from chronic oral cavity pain who repeatedly stabbed his palate due to ongoing local pain, over the last few months, which he could not further tolerate. The patient was suffering from depression and also a diagnosis of “burning mouth syndrome” (BMS) was made. Discussion. Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is characterized by a burning sensation in the tongue or other oral sites. BMS has high psychiatric comorbidity but can occur in the absence of psychiatric diagnosis. Patients with multiple forms of pain must be considered as potential candidates for underdiagnosed depression (major) and suicidal thoughts

Brain functional connectivity during the experience of thought blocks in schizophrenic patients with persistent auditory verbal hallucinations: An EEG study

Thought blocks (TBs) are characterized by regular interruptions in the stream of thought. Outward signs are abrupt and repeated interruptions in the flow of conversation or actions while subjective experience is that of a total and uncontrollable emptying of the mind. In the very limited bibliography regarding TB, the phenomenon is thought to be conceptualized as a disturbance of consciousness that can be attributed to stoppages of continuous information processing due to an increase in the volume of information to be processed. In an attempt to investigate potential expression of the phenomenon on the functional properties of electroencephalographic (EEG) activity, an EEG study was contacted in schizophrenic patients with persisting auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) who additionally exhibited TBs. In this case, we hypothesized that the persistent and dense AVHs could serve the role of an increased information flow that the brain is unable to process, a condition that is perceived by the person as TB. Phase synchronization analyses performed on EEG segments during the experience of TBs showed that synchrony values exhibited a long-range common mode of coupling (grouped behavior) among the left temporal area and the remaining central and frontal brain areas. These common synchrony-fluctuation schemes were observed for 0.5 to 2 s and were detected in a 4-s window following the estimated initiation of the phenomenon. The observation was frequency specific and detected in the broad alpha band region (6-12 Hz). The introduction of synchrony entropy (SE) analysis applied on the cumulative synchrony distribution showed that TB states were characterized by an explicit preference of the system to be functioned at low values of synchrony, while the synchrony values are broadly distributed during the recovery state. Our results indicate that during TB states, the phase locking of several brain areas were converged uniformly in a narrow band of low synchrony values and in a distinct time window, impeding thus the ability of the system to recruit and to process information during this time window. (C) 2014 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved

Indication of increased phase coupling between theta and gamma EEG rhythms associated with the experience of auditory verbal hallucinations

Electroencephalographic oscillations, with different spectral contents, recorded in various brain sites are assumed to play an important role in the information processes underlying cognition as well as the abnormal brain functioning observed in nosological entities that affect neuronal connectivity such as schizophrenia. In the present study we investigated the interaction of EEG rhythms during the experience of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs). For this purpose we analyzed data obtained from patients suffering from persistent AVHs, focusing on the mode that the phase of theta oscillations modulate the amplitude of the broad gamma EEG oscillations. Our results indicate increased phase coupling between theta and gamma rhythms observed in the left frontotemporal cortices during AVHs, under eyes closed condition. The average differences of theta-gamma coupling between hallucinatory and resting stages in the left temporal area were found to be statistically significant. These results suggest that a theta-gamma interaction may be involved in the production and experience of AVHs in patients suffering from schizophrenia. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved