Communication Deviance, Thought Disorder, and Attention Dysfunction in Mothers of Children At Risk for Schizophrenia.

Among the various methods for identifying children at high risk for the subsequent development of schizophrenia, three strategies are currently dominant: The definition of children at genetic risk because they are offspring of schizophrenic parents, the evaluation of developmental histories using the Risk Profile, and the presence of communication deviance in the projective test responses of parents. Unlike the other strategies, the theoretical assumptions of the parental communication deviance approach have not undergone systematic investigation. This study focused on three issues: (1) The extent to which mothers' communication deviance scores were related to measures of disordered thought, attentional difficulties, and a number of variables theoretically considered influential; (2) an investigation of differences in these measures among mothers whose children represent various levels of genetic and /or global risk; and (3) the determination of which of the three strategies for identifying risk is the best predictor for severity of psychopathology manifested by the children in the sample. One hundred mother-child pairs, divided into five conditions (N=20) participated in the study. The conditions included groups of mothers whose children were considered to be at: Genetic risk and high global risk as measured by the Risk Profile, genetic risk/low global risk, no genetic risk/high global risk, no genetic risk/low global risk, and no genetic risk/low global risk/community controls. The mothers were equivalent on a number of demographic variables. They were each administered the Thematic Apperception Test which was scored for communication deviance, the Object Sorting Test, a card sorting task, the Stroop Test, the attentional measures of the Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style, the Mental Health Questionnaire, the Schedule of Recent Experiences, and the Defensiveness subtest of the Autobiographical Survey. The children were evaluated on the Child Behavior Profile. The results indicated that: (1) Maternal communication deviance was related to measures of disordered thought, attentional difficulties, nonpsychotic symptomatology, and the magnitude of recent life events; (2) mothers whose children were at high global risk exhibited significantly greater impairment on all of the major variables under investigation--the genetic-no genetic risk dichotomy produced fewer significant differences; and (3) while all three strategies were associated with the severity of psychopathology manifested by the children, the estimates derived from the Risk Profile appeared to be the best predictors. The findings were discussed from the perspective of the communication deviance paradigm and the research on segmental set. Recommendations for future research were described.Ph.D.Clinical psychologyUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/157905/1/8025670.pd

Society of Pediatric Psychology Task Force Report: Recommendations for the Training of Pediatric Psychologists

Objective To provide an overview of the types of training experiences considered most important to the development of competency in pediatric psychology. Methods This is the work of a task force commissioned by the Society of Pediatric Psychology, Division 54 of the American Psychological Association. Results Twelve topic areas, adapted from Roberts et al. (1998), deemed important for obtaining knowledge and expertise in pediatric psychology, were identified. These topics include life span developmental psychology; life span developmental psychopathology; child, adolescent, and family assessment; intervention strategies; research methods and systems evaluation; professional, ethical, and legal issues pertaining to children, adolescents, and families; issues of diversity; the role of multiple disciplines in service-delivering systems; prevention, family support, and health promotion; social issues affecting children, adolescents, and families; consultant and liaison roles; and disease process and medical management. Each area is briefly described and recommendations for obtaining training in these areas are offered. Conclusions The Society of Pediatric Psychology offers this document as a comprehensive review of the ideal types of training experiences most important to developing competencies in pediatric psychology. These recommendations can be used by graduate students and graduate programs in shaping a training plan for students interested in pediatric psychology training

Telomere length in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is associated with folate status in men

Human chromosomes are capped by telomeres, which consist of tandem repeats of DNA and associated proteins. The length of the telomeres is reduced with increasing cell divisions except when the enzyme telomerase is active, as in stem cells and germ cells. Telomere dysfunction has been associated with development of age-related pathologies, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. DNA damage in the telomeric region causes attrition of telomeres. Because folate provides precursors for nucleotide synthesis and thus affects the integrity of DNA, including that of the telomeric region, folate status has the potential to influence telomere length. Telomere length is epigenetically regulated by DNA methylation, which in turn could be modulated by folate status. In this study, we determined whether folate status and the 677C > T polymorphism of the methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene are associated with the telomere length of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in healthy men. The results of our study showed that plasma concentration of folate was associated with telomere length of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in a nonlinear manner. When plasma folate concentration was above the median, there was a positive relationship between folate and telomere length. In contrast, there was an inverse relationship between folate and telomere length when plasma folate concentration was below the median. The MTHFR 677C> T polymorphism was weakly associated (P = 0.065) with increased telomere length at below-median folate status. We propose that folate status influences telomere length by affecting DNA integrity and the epigenetic regulation of telomere length through DNA methylation

Maternal antenatal vitamin D supplementation and offspring risk of atopic eczema in the first 4 years of life: evidence from a randomised controlled trial

Background: evidence linking prenatal maternal vitamin D supplementation with the offspring’s risk of atopic eczema is inconsistent, with most data coming from observational studies.Objectives: to examine the influence of maternal cholecalciferol supplementation during pregnancy on the risk of atopic eczema in the offspring at ages 12, 24 and 48 months.Methods: within the UK Maternal Vitamin D Osteoporosis Study (MAVIDOS) double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial, we examined the relationship of maternal vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy with offspring atopic eczema at ages 12, 24 and 48 months. In MAVIDOS, pregnant women were allocated to either cholecalciferol 1000 IU per day or matched placebo, taken from around 14 weeks’ gestation until delivery, with the primary outcome of neonatal whole-body bone mineral content. The prevalence of atopic eczema in the offspring was ascertained at ages 12 (n = 635), 24 (n = 610) and 48 (n = 449) months, based on the UK Working Party criteria for the definition of atopic dermatitis. The trial was registered with ISRCTN (82927713) and EudraCT (2007-001716-23).Results: the characteristics of mothers and offspring were similar between the intervention and placebo groups, apart from longer breastfeeding duration in the intervention group. Adjusting for breastfeeding duration, offspring of mothers who received cholecalciferol 1000 IU daily had a lower odds ratio (OR) of atopic eczema at age 12 months [OR 0·55, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·32–0·97, P = 0·04]; this effect weakened and was not statistically significant at ages 24 months (OR 0·76, 95% CI 0·47–1·23) or 48 months (OR 0·75, 95% CI 0·37–1·52). The statistical interaction of intervention and breastfeeding duration in relation to eczema at age 12 months was not significant (P = 0·41), but stratification showed reduced infantile eczema risk in the intervention group for infants breastfed for ≥ 1 month (OR 0·48, 95% CI 0·24–0·94, P = 0·03) but not in those breastfed for < 1 month (OR 0·80, 95% CI 0·29–2·17, P = 0·66).Conclusions: our data provide the first randomized controlled trial evidence of a protective effect of antenatal cholecalciferol supplementation on the risk of infantile atopic eczema, with the effect potentially being via increased breast milk cholecalciferol levels. The findings support a developmental influence on atopic eczema, and point to a potentially modifiable perinatal influence on atopic eczema

N100 Repetition Suppression Indexes Neuroplastic Defects in Clinical High Risk and Psychotic Youth

Highly penetrant mutations leading to schizophrenia are enriched for genes coding for N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor signaling complex (NMDAR-SC), implicating plasticity defects in the disease's pathogenesis. The importance of plasticity in neurodevelopment implies a role for therapies that target these mechanisms in early life to prevent schizophrenia. Testing such therapies requires noninvasive methods that can assess engagement of target mechanisms. The auditory N100 is an obligatory cortical response whose amplitude decreases with tone repetition. This adaptation may index the health of plasticity mechanisms required for normal development. We exposed participants aged 5 to 17 years with psychosis (n = 22), at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis (n = 29), and healthy controls (n = 17) to an auditory tone repeated 450 times and measured N100 adaptation (mean amplitude during first 150 tones − mean amplitude during last 150 tones). N100 adaptation was reduced in CHR and psychosis, particularly among participants <13 years old. Initial N100 blunting partially accounted for differences. Decreased change in the N100 amplitude with tone repetition may be a useful marker of defects in neuroplastic mechanisms measurable early in life