Deontological morality can be experimentally enhanced by increasing disgust. A transcranial direct current stimulation study

Previous studies empirically support the existence of a distinctive association between deontological (but not altruistic) guilt and both disgust and obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms. Given that the neural substrate underlying deontological guilt comprises brain regions strictly implicated in the emotion of disgust (i.e. the insula), the present study aimed to test the hypothesis that indirect stimulation of the insula via transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) would enhance disgust and morality in the deontological domain. A randomized, sham-controlled, within-subject design was used. Thirty-seven healthy individuals (25 women) underwent 15-min anodal and sham tDCS over T3 in two different days, while their heart rate (HR) was recorded to derive measures of parasympathetic nervous system activity (HR variability; HRV). After the first 10-min of sham or active tDCS stimulation, participants were asked to 1) complete a series of 6-item words that could be completed with either a disgust-related word (cleaning/dirtiness) or neutral alternatives; 2) rate how much a series of vignettes, each depicting a behavior that violated a specific moral foundation, were morally wrong. Levels of trait anxiety, depression, disgust sensitivity, scrupulosity, and altruism as well as pre- and post- stimulation momentary emotional states were assessed. Compared to the sham condition, after active stimulation of T3 a) HRV significantly increased and participants b) completed more words in terms of cleaning/dirtiness and c) reported greater subjective levels of disgust, all suggesting the elicitation of the emotion of disgust. Although the results are only marginally significant, they point to the absence of difference between the two experimental conditions for moral vignettes in the altruistic domain (i.e., animal care, emotional and physical human care), but not in the deontological domain (i.e., authority, fairness, liberty, and sacrality), where vignettes were judged as more morally wrong in the active compared to the sham condition. Moreover, scores on the OCI-R correlated with how much vignettes were evaluated as morally wrong in the deontological domain only. Results preliminarily support the association between disgust and morality in the deontological domain, with important implications for OC disorder (OCD). Future studies should explore the possibility of decreasing both disgust and morality in patients with OCD by the use of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques

Social cognition in people with schizophrenia: A cluster-analytic approach

Background The study aimed to subtype patients with schizophrenia on the basis of social cognition (SC), and to identify cut-offs that best discriminate among subtypes in 809 out-patients recruited in the context of the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses. Method A two-step cluster analysis of The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT), the Facial Emotion Identification Test and Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test scores was performed. Classification and regression tree analysis was used to identify the cut-offs of variables that best discriminated among clusters. Results We identified three clusters, characterized by unimpaired (42%), impaired (50.4%) and very impaired (7.5%) SC. Three theory-of-mind domains were more important for the cluster definition as compared with emotion perception and emotional intelligence. Patients more able to understand simple sarcasm (14 for TASIT-SS) were very likely to belong to the unimpaired SC cluster. Compared with patients in the impaired SC cluster, those in the very impaired SC cluster performed significantly worse in lie scenes (TASIT-LI <10), but not in simple sarcasm. Moreover, functioning, neurocognition, disorganization and SC had a linear relationship across the three clusters, while positive symptoms were significantly lower in patients with unimpaired SC as compared with patients with impaired and very impaired SC. On the other hand, negative symptoms were highest in patients with impaired levels of SC. Conclusions If replicated, the identification of such subtypes in clinical practice may help in tailoring rehabilitation efforts to the person's strengths to gain more benefit to the person

I obsessively clean because deontological guilt makes me feel physiologically disgusted!

The emotions of guilt and disgust play a pivotal role in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The present study hypothesized the existence of a distinctive relation between deontological (but not altruistic) guilt and subjective and physiological correlates of disgust. Moreover, we aimed at testing whether the evoked emotion of disgust may activate OCD-like washing behaviors. Gender-matched healthy participants were randomly assigned to altruistic (n = 31) or deontological guilt (n = 30) inductions followed by a cleaning task, while their electrocardiogram was continuously recorded to derive vagally-mediated heart rate variability (HRV). At baseline and after each experimental condition, participants' momentary emotional state was assessed by visual analog scales (VAS). Compared to altruistic guilt, deontological guilt had the effect of: a) enhancing the physiological correlate of disgust (i.e. augmented HRV); b) increasing OCD-like washing behaviors (e.g. checking). In both groups, washing behaviors had the effect to reduce the physiological correlate of disgust. These effects were stronger in participants with higher OC tendencies, as indicated by scores on the dispositional questionnaires. Results support previous reports on a distinctive relation between deontological guilt and both disgust and OCD symptoms

Personal resilience factors protect against distressing auditory hallucinations: A study comparing psychotic patients with auditory hallucinations, non-patients with auditory hallucinations, and healthy controls.

peer reviewedAlthough studies have identified several risk factors for the development of psychotic disorders, potential protective factors - such as resilience - have rarely been examined. Studies suggest that the negative beliefs people hold about their Auditory Hallucinations (AH) may be an indicator of a need for care. However, the reason why certain people do not develop negative beliefs is unclear but may be related to resilience. The present study aimed to examine the role of resilience in AH by comparing psychotic patients with AH, non-patients with AH, and healthy controls without AH. Another aim was to explore whether resilience is related to the beliefs people hold about their AH. Results revealed that patients with AH and non-patients with AH had similarly weak interpersonal resilience factors compared to healthy controls without AH. In contrast, patients with AH showed weak personal factors of resilience compared to both non-patients with AH and healthy controls without AH. Patients with AH had more negative and fewer positive beliefs about their AH than non-patients with AH. Finally, the personal factors of resilience were related to the beliefs about AH. These results showed that personal factors of resilience are decisive variables influencing the need for care in people experiencing AH and thus represent an important treatment target

Exploring the association between the Iowa gambling task and community functioning in people with schizophrenia

Background: Decision making (DM) consists of a number of complex processes involving higher-order cognitive functions involved in outcome evaluation. Problems in DM may have significant negative repercussions on community functioning. We hypothesise in individuals with schizophrenia difficulties in community functioning will be associated with DM problems. Subjects and methods: DM performance was assessed using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) in 30 individuals with schizophrenia and 32 healthy controls. Participants’ choices on the IGT were grouped as: Ambiguous Decisions, where the outcome is uncertain and cannot be predicted (i.e. IGT initial phase), and Risky Decisions, where the outcome can be predicted with an error margin (i.e. IGT final phase). People with schizophrenia were also assessed with measures of community functioning and symptoms. Results: Controls outperformed individuals with schizophrenia in risky decisions. In patients, levels of community functioning positively correlated with DM performance. Symptomatology was not associated with DM proficiency or functioning. Conclusions: DM impairment may represent an important contributor to poor functional outcomes in people with schizophrenia. Interventions targeting decision making and higher order cognitive problems in people with schizophrenia may have a greater impact on functional difficulties

EXPLORING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE IOWA GAMBLING TASK AND COMMUNITY FUNCTIONING IN PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA

Background: Decision making (DM) consists of a number of complex processes involving higher-order cognitive functions involved in outcome evaluation. Problems in DM may have significant negative repercussions on community functioning. We hypothesise in individuals with schizophrenia difficulties in community functioning will be associated with DM problems. Subjects and methods: DM performance was assessed using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) in 30 individuals with schizophrenia and 32 healthy controls. Participants’ choices on the IGT were grouped as: Ambiguous Decisions, where the outcome is uncertain and cannot be predicted (i.e. IGT initial phase), and Risky Decisions, where the outcome can be predicted with an error margin (i.e. IGT final phase). People with schizophrenia were also assessed with measures of community functioning and symptoms. Results: Controls outperformed individuals with schizophrenia in risky decisions. In patients, levels of community functioning positively correlated with DM performance. Symptomatology was not associated with DM proficiency or functioning. Conclusions: DM impairment may represent an important contributor to poor functional outcomes in people with schizophrenia. Interventions targeting decision making and higher order cognitive problems in people with schizophrenia may have a greater impact on functional difficulties

Defence mechanisms and attachment styles in paranoid ideation evaluated in a sample of non-clinical young adults

Objective. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate defence mechanisms and attachment styles in paranoid ideation through a cross-sectional design with sequential recruitment of subjects. Methods. Five hundred and fifty non-clinical subjects were recruited from university students. A psychometric protocol comprising paranoid ideation scale of Symptoms Check List (SCL-90-R-Par) to identify paranoid ideation, Defence Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40) to evaluate defence mechanisms, and Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) to measure attachment styles was then administered. Results.We found a significant predictive value of immature defence mechanisms (®=0.48; p<0.0001) and preoccupied attachment style (®=0.25; p<0.0001) in the paranoid ideation. Moreover, subjects reporting a preoccupied or fearful attachment style showed higher levels of paranoia. Conclusions. This study revealed that paranoid ideation is mainly characterised by immature defence mechanisms. A clear insecure attachment style associated with paranoia was also found. The assessment of paranoid ideation should therefore consider the role of attachment style and defence mechanisms as an integral part during the diagnostic and therapeutic processes

Resilience and coping in trauma spectrum symptoms prediction: A structural equation modeling approach

Resilience is increasingly recognized as a relevant factor in shaping psychological response to natural disasters. Aim of the study is to examine in the context of a natural disaster the potential effects of resilience on the relation between coping and trauma spectrum symptoms, using structural equation modeling.A sample of 371 students who survived the earthquake in L'Aquila (Italy) were cross-sectionally evaluated using Resilience Scale for Adolescents, Brief Cope and Trauma and Loss Spectrum scale.The model shows a direct path of positive and emotional coping styles on resilience. Emotional coping shows also a direct impact on the outcome; positive and emotional coping results to be positively correlated as well as emotional and disengagement coping styles. Resilience directly affects the PTSD symptoms, partially mediating the impact of the coping styles. The model explains 30% of the variance in the outcome, i.e. the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms, with very good fit indexes.Resilience operates as a protective factor from stress symptom development. It is likely that emotional and disengagement coping skills are rapidly involved after a traumatic exposure but when problem focused coping intervenes, resilience allows it to buffer the stressors or even guides toward a more successful outcome