The association between insight and depressive symptoms in schizophrenia: Undirected and Bayesian network analyses

Background. Greater levels of insight may be linked with depressive symptoms among patients with schizophrenia, however, it would be useful to characterize this association at symptom-level, in order to inform research on interventions. Methods. Data on depressive symptoms (Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia) and insight (G12 item from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) were obtained from 921 community-dwelling, clinically-stable individuals with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia, recruited in a nationwide multicenter study. Network analysis was used to explore the most relevant connections between insight and depressive symptoms, including potential confounders in the model (neurocognitive and social-cognitive functioning, positive, negative and disorganization symptoms, extrapyramidal symptoms, hostility, internalized stigma, and perceived discrimination). Bayesian network analysis was used to estimate a directed acyclic graph (DAG) while investigating the most likely direction of the putative causal association between insight and depression. Results. After adjusting for confounders, better levels of insight were associated with greater self-depreciation, pathological guilt, morning depression and suicidal ideation. No difference in global network structure was detected for socioeconomic status, service engagement or illness severity. The DAG confirmed the presence of an association between greater insight and self-depreciation, suggesting the more probable causal direction was from insight to depressive symptoms. Conclusions. In schizophrenia, better levels of insight may cause self-depreciation and, possibly, other depressive symptoms. Person-centered and narrative psychotherapeutic approaches may be particularly fit to improve patient insight without dampening self-esteem

The relationship between personality traits, the 5HTT polymorphisms, and the occurrence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in elite athletes

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between personality, the serotonin transporter (5HTT) polymorphisms and the occurrence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in elite athletes. 133 healthy participants completed the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). The mood states were assessed using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire. The athlete's mental skills were assessed through the Sport Performance Psychological Inventory (IPPS-48). The occurrence of psychiatric and personality disorders was assessed using the Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders. A polymerase chain reaction was employed to identify genotypes at the 5HTTLPR polymorphism. The 5HTTLPR s/s genotype was associated with both neuroticism (p< 0.001) and tension/anxiety symptoms according to the POMS (p<0.02), cognitive anxiety and emotional arousal control according to the IPPS-48 (p<0.01). Significant correlations were proved between neuroticism and symptoms of anxiety and depression (p<0.05). Neuroticism mediates the association between the 5HTTLPR polymorphism and symptoms of cognitive anxiety and emotional arousal control (p<0.05). These results suggest a significant interaction between the 5HTTLPR polymorphism, neuroticism and sport related stress that predict adverse mental health outcomes in athletes. Identification of homogeneous groups of athletes having predispositions to anxiety and depressive symptoms may help to implement early prevention programs

Do patients with hallucinations imagine speech right?

A direct relationship between auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) and decreased left-hemispheric lateralization in speech perception has been often described, although it has not been conclusively proven. The specific lateralization of AVHs has been poorly explored. However, patients with verbal hallucinations show a weak Right Ear Advantage (REA) in verbal perception compared to non AVHs listeners suggesting that left-hemispheric language area are involved in AVHs. In the present study, 29 schizophrenia patients with AVHs, 31 patients with psychotic bipolar disorder who experienced frequent AVHs, 27 patients with schizophrenia who had never experienced AVHs and 57 healthy controls were required to imagine hearing a voice in one ear alone. In line with previous evidence healthy controls confirmed the expected REA for auditory imagery, and the same REA was also found in non-hallucinator patients. However, in line with our hypothesis, patients with schizophrenia and psychotic bipolar disorder with AVHs showed no lateral bias. Results extend the relationship between abnormal asymmetry for verbal stimuli and AVHs to verbal imagery, suggesting that atypical verbal imagery may reflect a disruption of inter-hemispheric connectivity between areas implicated in the generation and monitoring of verbal imagery and may be predictive of a predisposition for AVHs. Results also indicate that the relationship between AVHs and hemispheric lateralization for auditory verbal imagery is not specific to schizophrenia but may extend to other disorders as well

Facial emotion recognition in bipolar disorder and healthy aging

Emotional face recognition is impaired in bipolar disorder, but it is not clear whether this is specific for the illness. Here, we investigated how aging and bipolar disorder influence dynamic emotional face recognition. Twenty older adults, 16 bipolar patients, and 20 control subjects performed a dynamic affective facial recognition task and a subsequent rating task. Participants pressed a key as soon as they were able to discriminate whether the neutral face was assuming a happy or angry facial expression and then rated the intensity of each facial expression. Results showed that older adults recognized happy expressions faster, whereas bipolar patients recognized angry expressions faster. Furthermore, both groups rated emotional faces more intensely than did the control subjects. This study is one of the first to compare how aging and clinical conditions influence emotional facial recognition and underlines the need to consider the role of specific and common factors in emotional face recognition

Emotional Prosody Effects on Verbal Memory in Euthymic Patients With Bipolar Disorder

A growing body of evidence suggests that emotional prosody influences the ability to remember verbal information. Although bipolar disorder (BD) has been shown to be associated with deficits in verbal memory and emotional processing, the relation between these processes in this population remains unclear. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the impact of emotional prosody on verbal memory in euthymic BD patients compared with controls. Participants were randomly divided into three subgroups according to different prosody listening conditions (a story read with a positive, negative, or neutral prosody) and effects on a yes-no recognition memory task were investigated. Results showed that euthymic bipolar patients remembered comparable numbers of words after listening to the story with a negative or neutral prosody but remembered fewer words after listening to the positive version compared with healthy controls. Results suggest that verbal memory is hindered in BD patients after listening to the story read with a positive prosody. This recognition bias for information with a positive prosody may lead to negative intrusive verbal memories and poor emotion regulation

Frequencies of the genotypes and alleles of the 5-HTTLPR.

<p>Frequencies of the genotypes and alleles of the 5-HTTLPR.</p

Association between 5-HTTLPR genotype and Sport Performance Psychological Inventory (IPPS-48). Mean ± SD. P = level of significance.

<p>Association between 5-HTTLPR genotype and Sport Performance Psychological Inventory (IPPS-48). Mean ± SD. P = level of significance.</p

Mediator Effects Using Multiple Regression.

<p>Mediator Effects Using Multiple Regression.</p

Association between 5-HTTLPR genotype and Profile of Mood States (POMS). Mean ± SD. P = level of significance.

<p>Association between 5-HTTLPR genotype and Profile of Mood States (POMS). Mean ± SD. P = level of significance.</p