I Say “no”. You Say “it Isn't”. About a New Understanding of the Concept of Negation

Introduction: In our opinion there is still confusion about the exact meaning of the term negation. As a consequence of this the importance of negation in the psychotherapeutic work is until now underestimated. Objectives For psychiatrists who work according to Fagioli's human birth theory the concept of negation is fundamental. Negation is a notion that refers to unconscious reality. Aims: The task of the psychiatrist is to identify and to interpret the negation in the deformed dream images during the psychotherapeutic process. Methods: In contrast to an intentional lie, which is communicated through verbal speech, negation corresponds to unconscious thoughts, which we can find in dreams. During sleep a transformation occurs, language is altered and expressed through images. Negation deforms the image. This deformation of the image happens in an unconscious process. This negation distorts the reality of the patient and his ability to interact with the other. Corresponding the relationship will be aggressive/destructive. The only way to identify this deformation is dream interpretation. Results: Through this therapeutic process the patient will be able to intuit and realize instead of negate the positive qualities of the other and integrate these into his reality. Only human interaction that is free from negation enable the patient to overcome the ideo-affective splitting, which allows recovery of positive affects and the possibility of developing evolutive relationships. Conclusions: Only a clarification of the term negation allows a psychotherapeutic process with the aim of developing evolutive relationships

Study on psychoeducation enhancing results of adherence in patients with schizophrenia (SPERA-S): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Poor adherence to pharmacotherapy negatively affects the course and the outcome of schizophreniaspectrum psychoses, enhancing the risk of relapse. Falloon and coworkers developed a Psychoeducation Program aimed at improving communication and problem-solving abilities in patients and their families. This study set out to evaluate changes in adherence to pharmacotherapy in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia-spectrum psychoses, by comparing one group exposed to the Falloon Psychoeducation Program (FPP) with another group exposed to family supportive therapy with generic information on the disorders. METHODS: 340 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and related disorders according to standardized criteria from 10 participating units distributed throughout the Italian National Health System (NHS), will be enrolled with 1:1 allocation by the method of blocks of randomized permutations. Patients will be reassessed at 6, 12 and 18 months after start of treatment (duration: 6 months).The primary objective is to evaluate changes in adherence to pharmacotherapy after psychoeducation. Adherence will be assessed at three-month intervals by measuring blood levels of the primary prescribed drug using high pressure liquid chromatography, and via the Medication Adherence Questionnaire and a modified version of the Adherence Interview. Secondary objectives are changes in the frequency of relapse and readmission, as the main indicator of the course of the disorder.Enrolled patients will be allocated to the FPP (yes/no) randomly, 1:1, in a procedure controlled by the coordinating unit; codes will be masked until the conclusion of the protocol (or the occurrence of a severe negative event). The raters will be blind to treatment allocation and will be tested for blinding after treatment completion. Intention-to-treat will be applied in considering the primary and secondary outcomes. Multiple imputations will be applied to integrate the missing data. The study started recruitment in February 2013; the total duration of the study is 27 months. DISCUSSION: If the psychoeducation program proves effective in improving adherence to pharmacotherapy and in reducing relapse and readmissions, its application could be proposed as a standard adjunctive psychosocial treatment within the Italian NHS

Evidence for crossed catecholaminergic nigrostriatal projections by combining wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase retrograde transport and tyrosine hydroxylase immunocytochemistry

After unilateral injections of wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase into the rat caudate-putamen, a few retrogradely labeled neurons were found in the contralateral pars compacta of the substantia nigra. These contralaterally projecting nigral cell bodies also immunoreacted positively to a specific tyrosine hydroxylase antiserum. We conclude that crossed catecholaminergic nigrostriatal projections may contribute to the reciprocal regulation exerted by the two nigrostriatal dopaminergic systems

Time course of nigrostriatal system changes after tract hemisection and effects of ganglioside treatment: a multiple retrograde fluorescent tracing study

The postlesion phenomena of nigrostriatal neurons following partial tract hemisection have been studied with retrograde axonal transport of dyes in rats treated with saline or GM1 ganglioside (30 mg/kg, i.p., daily for varying times). The time course of the plastic changes in both experimental animal groups was determined by a double retrograde fluorescent tracing technique, utilizing Fast blue (FB) as prelesion tracer, and Diamidino yellow (DY) as postlesion tracer. The data show that the number of nigral cells retrogradely labeled by the prelesion intrastriatal injection of FB declined progressively to 50% of their initial number over 3 weeks. The ganglioside treatment did not significantly influence this temporal pattern of labeled cell loss. By DY-labeling, an almost complete block of the retrograde axonal transport was observed up to 1 week postlesion and only after 3 weeks a partial recovery was evident, positively influenced by the GM1 treatment. Therefore, together with the findings on nigrostriat al cell loss, these data indicate that ganglioside treatment favors and/or accelerates the recovery of axonal transport of surviving nigral neurons but does not significantly affect their degenerative rate in the first 3 weeks after the lesion

The PhD course in "Early psychosis": the first step towards an international network.

The PhD course in ‘Early Psychosis’: the first step towards an international training network Paolo Fiori Nastro, Michol Consolazione, Marco Bensi, Paolo Girardi, Massimo Biondi PhD School’ ‘Early Intervention in Psychosis’, ‘Casa’ Sapienza, University of Rome, Department of Psychiatry, 16PhD School of ‘Casa’ Early Intervention in Psychosis, Sant’ Andrea Hospital and ‘Sapienza’ Uni- versity of Rome NESMOS Department, Rome, Italy In 2009, the WPA Committee on Education stated that ‘. . . All curricula for the training of psychiatrists and examinations for certifi cation of psy- chiatrists should include understanding of the theory and practical appli- cation of early interventions in fi rst-episode psychosis’ In 2008, for the fi rst time in Italy, at the ‘Sapienza’ University of Rome, we started the, course on ‘Early intervention in Psychosis’. The aim of this course is: (i) to con- solidate knowledge in one of the most innovative fi eld of psychiatric research; (ii) to contribute to the formation of an international research network; (ii) to spread the knowledge derived from research on early detection and early intervention. To avoid the stigma and to contribute for radical changes in our mental health care system abundant, highly trained and qualifi ed researchers are a necessary condition especially when the persistence of concepts which are based on unsustainable assumptions interferes with the appropriate deployment of new convergent fi ndings derived from large multisite studies. Against the background of growing competition at world level, we are sure that the development of an inter- national network for researchers will be crucial to support a benefi cial circulation of researchers and their knowledg

Italian (cross cultural) adaptation and validation of the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale (CDS)

[No abstract available