The effect of family environment and psychiatric family history on psychosocial functioning in first-episode psychosis at baseline and after 2 years

Abstract The aim of the present study was to evaluate the contribution of family environment styles and psychiatric family history on functioning of patients presenting first-episode psychosis (FEP). Patients with FEP and healthy controls (HC) were assessed at baseline and after 2 years. The Functional Assessment Short Test (FAST) was used to assess functional outcome and the Family Environment Scale (FES) to evaluate family environment. Linear regressions evaluated the effect that family environment exerts on functioning at baseline and at 2-year follow-up, when FEP patients were diagnosed according to non-affective (NA-PSYCH) or affective psychoses (APSYCH). The influence of a positive parents' psychiatric history on functioning was evaluated through one-way between-groups analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) models, after controlling for family environmental styles. At baseline, FEP patients presented moderate functioning impairment, significantly worse than HC (28.65±16.17 versus 3.25±7.92; p<0.001, g = 1.91). At 2-year follow-up, the functioning of NA-PSYCH patients was significantly worse than in A-PSYCH (19.92±14.83 versus 12.46±14.86; p = 0.020, g = 0.50). No specific family environment style was associated with functioning in FEP patients and HC. On the contrary, a positive psychiatric father's history influenced functioning of FEP patients. After 2 years, worse functioning in NA-PSYCH patients was associated with lower rates of active-recreational and achievement orientated family environment and with higher rates of moral-religious emphasis and control. In A-PSYCH, worse functioning was associated with higher rates of conflict in the family. Both family environment and psychiatric history influence psychosocial functioning, with important implications for early interventions, that should involve both patients and caregivers

Relapse, cognitive reserve, and their relationship with cognition in first episode schizophrenia: a 3-year follow-up study

Schizophrenia is frequently characterized by the presence of multiple relapses. Cognitive impairments are core features of schizophrenia. Cognitive reserve (CR) is the ability of the brain to compensate for damage caused by pathologies such as psychotic illness. As cognition is related to CR, the study of the relationship between relapse, cognition and CR may broaden our understanding of the course of the disease. We aimed to determine whether relapse was associated with cognitive impairment, controlling for the effects of CR. Ninety-nine patients with a remitted first episode of schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorder were administered a set of neuropsychological tests to assess premorbid IQ, attention, processing speed, working memory, verbal and visual memory, executive functions and social cognition. They were followed up for 3 years (n=53) or until they relapsed (n=46). Personal and familial CR was estimated from a principal component analysis of the premorbid information gathered. Linear mixed-effects models were applied to analyse the effect of time and relapse on cognitive function, with CR as covariate. Patients who relapsed and had higher personal CR showed less deterioration in attention, whereas those with higher CR (personal and familial CR) who did not relapse showed better performance in processing speed and visual memory. Taken together, CR seems to ameliorate the negative effects of relapse on attention performance and shows a positive effect on processing speed and visual memory in those patients who did not relapse. Our results add evidence for the protective effect of CR over the course of the illness

The interplay between functioning problems and symptoms in first episode of psychosis: an approach from network analysis

The relationship between psychotic symptoms and global measures of functioning has been widely studied. No previous study has assessed so far the interplay between specific clinical symptoms and particular areas of functioning in first-episode psychosis (FEP) using network analysis methods. A total of 191 patients with FEP (age 24.45 ± 6.28 years, 64.9% male) participating in an observational and longitudinal study (AGES-CM) comprised the study sample. Functioning problems were assessed with the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS), whereas the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used to assess symptom severity. Network analysis were conducted with the aim of analysing the patterns of relationships between the different dimensions of functioning and PANSS symptoms and factors at baseline. According to our results, the most important nodes were “conceptual disorganization”, “emotional withdrawal”, “lack of spontaneity and flow of conversation”, “delusions”, “unusual thought content”, “dealing with strangers” and “poor rapport”. Our findings suggest that these symptoms and functioning dimensions should be prioritized in the clinical assessment and management of patients with FEP. These areas may also become targets of future early intervention strategies, so as to improve quality of life in this populationThis work was supported by the Madrid Regional Government (R&D activities in Biomedicine (grant number S2017/BMD-3740 - AGES-CM 2-CM)) and Structural Funds of the European Union. Ana Izquierdo’s work is supported by the PFIS predoctoral program (FI17/00138) from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Spain) and co-funded by the European Union (ERDF/ESF, "A way to make Europe”/ “Investing in your future”) and The Biomedical Research Foundation of La Princesa University Hospital. Angela Ib´a˜nez thanks the support of CIBERSAM and of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI16/00834 and PI19/01295) co-financed by ERDF Funds from the European Commission. Covadonga M. Díaz-Caneja holds a Juan Rod´es Grant from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (JR19/00024). Celso Arango was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Instituto de Salud Carlos III (SAM16PE07CP1, PI16/02012, PI19/ 024), co-financed by ERDF Funds from the European Commission, “A way of making Europe”, CIBERSAM. Madrid Regional Government (B2017/BMD-3740 AGES-CM-2), European Union Structural Funds. European Union Seventh Framework Program under grant agreements FP7-4-HEALTH-2009-2.2.1-2-241909 (Project EU-GEI), FP7- HEALTH- 2013-2.2.1-2-603196 (Project PSYSCAN) and FP7- HEALTH-2013- 2.2.1-2-602478 (Project METSY); and European Union H2020 Program under the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking (grant agreement No 115916, Project PRISM, and grant agreement No 777394, Project AIMS-2-TRIALS), Fundaci´on Familia Alonso, Fundaci´on Alicia Koplowitz and Fundaci´on Mutua Madrile˜n

Ecos de la academia: Revista de la Facultad de Educación, Ciencia y Tecnología - FECYT Nro 5

Ecos de la academia, Revista de la Facultad de Educación Ciencia y Tecnología es una publicación científica de la Universidad Técnica del Norte, con revisión por pares a doble ciego que publica artículos en idioma español, quichua, portugués e inglés. Se edita con una frecuencia semestral con dos números por año.En ella se divulgan trabajos originales e inéditos generados por los investigadores, docentes y estudiantes de la FECYT, y contribuciones de profesionales de instituciones docentes e investigativas dentro y fuera del país, con calidad, originalidad y relevancia en las áreas de ciencias sociales y tecnología aplicada.Realidad socioinclusiva del adulto mayor del grupo etario mayor a los 70 años en las parroquias urbanas de Ibarra. Orientación vocacional y personalidad en el Sistema Nacional de Nivelación y Admisión en la Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Las primeras tarjetas postales de Ibarra, Ecuador: 1906-1914. Aprendizaje móvil en el aula. Aproximación a la Concepción Etnomatemática. La ética en la investigación educativa: ¿condición indispensable?. Inteligencia sociocultural para la inclusión. Atención al alumnado inmigrante: la visión de una profesora francesa en Galicia. Análisis crítico de la dimensión ambiental del ecosistema montañoso Guamuhaya, Cuba (1995-2014). La adaptación curricular inclusiva en la educación regular. El arte en la provincia de Imbabura de mediados del siglo XIX en torno a las escuelas de arte. Formación integral: un estudio de algunos logros y carencias. Experiencias en la publicidad online en la ciudad de Ibarra, Ecuador. Estudio exploratorio de la incidencia de los hogares disfuncionales en la iniciación sexual temprana de los adolescentes. Etnografía Virtual como aplicación metodológica: Caso Chevron en Ecuador. Alfabetización y calidad de vida: percepción de los alfabetizados. Elaboración de un manual mediante el método Delphi para la enseñanza de patronaje. Pertinencia de la Carrera de Turismo de la UTN, en el contexto de la Región 1 del Ecuador, 2016-2020. Preferencias por doble titulación de bachilleres de la Zona 1 de Ecuador y Nariño de Colombia. “Mucha Publicidad”, II Simposio de Diseño, Publicidad y Sociedad, de la UTN. Normas de presentación de artículos en la revista Ecos de la Academia

Reduced Gyrification Is Related to Reduced Interhemispheric Connectivity in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Objective Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been associated with atypical cortical gray and subcortical white matter development. Neurodevelopmental theories postulate that a relation between cortical maturation and structural brain connectivity may exist. We therefore investigated the development of gyrification and white matter connectivity and their relationship in individuals with ASD and their typically developing peers. Method T1- and diffusion-weighted images were acquired from a representative sample of 30 children and adolescents with ASD (aged 8-18 years), and 29 typically developing children matched for age, sex, hand preference, and socioeconomic status. The FreeSurfer suite was used to calculate cortical volume, surface area, and gyrification index. Measures of structural connectivity were estimated using probabilistic tractography and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). Results Left prefrontal and parietal cortex showed a relative, age-dependent decrease in gyrification index in children and adolescents with ASD compared to typically developing controls. This result was replicated in an age-and IQ-matched sample provided by the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) initiative. Furthermore, tractography and TBSS showed a complementary pattern in which left prefrontal gyrification was negatively related to radial diffusivity in the forceps minor in participants with ASD. Conclusion The present study builds on earlier findings of abnormal gyrification and structural connectivity in the prefrontal cortex in ASD. It provides a more comprehensive neurodevelopmental characterization of ASD, involving interdependent changes in microstructural white and cortical gray matter. The findings of related abnormal patterns of gyrification and white matter connectivity support the notion of the intertwined development of 2 major morphometric domains in ASD

Atypical age-dependency of executive function and white matter microstructure in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

Executive function (EF) performance is associated with measurements of white matter microstructure (WMS) in typical individuals. Impaired EF is a hallmark symptom of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) but it is unclear how impaired EF relates to variability in WMS. Twenty-one male youth (8–18 years) with ASD and without intellectual disability and twenty-one typical male participants (TP) matched for age, intelligence quotient, handedness, race and parental socioeconomic status were recruited. Five EF domains were assessed and several DTI-based measurements of WMS [fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD) and radial diffusivity (RD)] were estimated for eighteen white matter tracts. The ASD group had lower scores for attention (F = 8.37, p = 0.006) and response inhibition (F = 13.09, p = 0.001). Age-dependent changes of EF performance and WMS measurements were present in TP but attenuated in the ASD group. The strongest diagnosis-by-age effect was found for forceps minor, left anterior thalamic radiation and left cingulum angular bundle (all p’s ≤ 0.002). In these tracts subjects with ASD tended to have equal or increased FA and/or reduced MD and/or RD at younger ages while controls had increased FA and/or reduced MD and/or RD thereafter. Only for TP individuals, increased FA in the left anterior thalamic radiation was associated with better response inhibition, while reduced RD in forceps minor and left cingulum angular bundle was related to better problem solving and working memory performance respectively. These findings provide novel insight into the age-dependency of EF performance and WMS in ASD, which can be instructive to cognitive training programs.Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, CIBERSAM, the Ramon y Cajal Program, the CDTI under the CENIT Program (AMIT Project), Madrid Regional Government (S2010/BMD-2422 AGES), the ERA-NET NEURON (Network of European Funding for Neuroscience Research) (PIM2010ERN-00642), Fundación Alicia Koplowitz (FAK2012, FAK2013), Fundación Mutua Madrileña (FMM2009), and Caja Navarra3.553 JCR (2017) Q1, 9/124 Pediatrics; Q2, 43/142 PsychiatryUE