TACC3 (transforming, acidic coiled-coil containing protein 3)

Review on TACC3 (transforming, acidic coiled-coil containing protein 3), with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated

Mourning and melancholia revisited: correspondences between principles of Freudian metapsychology and empirical findings in neuropsychiatry

Freud began his career as a neurologist studying the anatomy and physiology of the nervous system, but it was his later work in psychology that would secure his place in history. This paper draws attention to consistencies between physiological processes identified by modern clinical research and psychological processes described by Freud, with a special emphasis on his famous paper on depression entitled 'Mourning and melancholia'. Inspired by neuroimaging findings in depression and deep brain stimulation for treatment resistant depression, some preliminary physiological correlates are proposed for a number of key psychoanalytic processes. Specifically, activation of the subgenual cingulate is discussed in relation to repression and the default mode network is discussed in relation to the ego. If these correlates are found to be reliable, this may have implications for the manner in which psychoanalysis is viewed by the wider psychological and psychiatric communities

Topographic abnormality of slow cortical potentials in schizophrenia

A recent study from our laboratory has provided evidence for the generation of slow potentials occurring in anticipation to task-performance feedback stimuli, in multiple association cortical areas, consistently including two prefrontal areas. In the present study, we intended to determine whether these slow potentials would indicate some abnormality (topographic) in schizophrenic patients, and thus serve as an indication of abnormal association cortex activity. We recorded slow potentials while subjects performed a paired-associates memory task. A 123-channel EEG montage and common average reference were used for 20 unmedicated schizophrenic (mean duration of illness: 11.3 ± 9.2 years; mean number of previous hospitalizations: 1.2 ± 1.9) and 22 healthy control subjects during a visual paired-associates matching task. For the topographic analysis, we used a simple index of individual topographic deviation from normality, corrected for absolute potential intensities. Slow potentials were observed in all subjects. Control subjects showed a simple spatial pattern of voltage extrema (left central positive and right prefrontal negative), whereas schizophrenic patients presented a more complex, fragmented pattern. Topographic deviation was significantly different between groups (P < 0.001). The increased topographic complexity in schizophrenics could be visualized in grand averages computed across subjects. Increased topographic complexity could also be seen when grand averages were computed for subgroups of patients assembled either according to task-performance (high versus low) or by their scores on psychopathological scales. There was no significant correlation between topographic deviation and psychopathology scores. We conclude that the slow potential topographic abnormalities of schizophrenia indicate an abnormality in the configuration of large-scale electrical activity in association cortices

The cognitive, affective motivational and clinical longitudinal determinants of apathy in schizophrenia

International audienceApathy is a frequent and debilitating condition with few treatment options available in schizophrenia patients. Despite evidence of its multidimensional structure, most of past studies have explored apathy through a categorical approach. The main objective of this study was to identify the cognitive, emotional, motivational, and clinical factors at baseline that best predicted the three subtypes of apathy dimensions at follow-up. In a longitudinal study, 137 participants diagnosed with schizophrenia underwent different assessments including clinical, motivational, affective and cognitive measurements, at 1-month (referred to as baseline) and 12-month follow-ups. Data were analyzed using partial least squares variance-based structural equation modeling. Three latent variables representing the three previously described domains of apathy reaching consensus in the literature were extracted from the Lille Apathy Rating Scale. Results showed that in addition to baseline apathy, positive symptoms, anticipatory pleasure and sensibility to punishment at baseline predicted cognitive apathy at follow-up. Likewise, both baseline apathy and sensibility to punishment predicted emotional apathy at follow-up. Finally, baseline anhedonia and episodic memory were the main variables the predicted behavioral apathy at follow-up. This is the first study to show specific associations between apathy subtypes and clinical and cognitive motivational dysfunction in individual with schizophrenia, indicating possible distinct underlying mechanisms to these demotivational symptoms. Treatment for apathy should address both types of processes. Importantly, our results demonstrate the interest of multidimensional approaches in the understanding of apathy in schizophrenia