Social Cognition Psychometric Evaluation: Results of the Initial Psychometric Study

Measurement of social cognition in treatment trials remains problematic due to poor and limited psychometric data for many tasks. As part of the Social Cognition Psychometric Evaluation (SCOPE) study, the psychometric properties of 8 tasks were assessed. One hundred and seventy-nine stable outpatients with schizophrenia and 104 healthy controls completed the battery at baseline and a 2–4-week retest period at 2 sites. Tasks included the Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire (AIHQ), Bell Lysaker Emotion Recognition Task (BLERT), Penn Emotion Recognition Task (ER-40), Relationships Across Domains (RAD), Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task (Eyes), The Awareness of Social Inferences Test (TASIT), Hinting Task, and Trustworthiness Task. Tasks were evaluated on: (i) test-retest reliability, (ii) utility as a repeated measure, (iii) relationship to functional outcome, (iv) practicality and tolerability, (v) sensitivity to group differences, and (vi) internal consistency. The BLERT and Hinting task showed the strongest psychometric properties across all evaluation criteria and are recommended for use in clinical trials. The ER-40, Eyes Task, and TASIT showed somewhat weaker psychometric properties and require further study. The AIHQ, RAD, and Trustworthiness Task showed poorer psychometric properties that suggest caution for their use in clinical trials

Going From Social Neuroscience to Schizophrenia Clinical Trials

The goals of the project Social Cognition and Functioning in Schizophrenia (SCAF) were to (1) identify the domains to target from social neuroscience for translation to clinical schizophrenia research, (2) identify the paradigms that represent these domains for which the neural substrates are well documented, (3) adapt these paradigms for use in schizophrenia clinical trials, (4) assess the psychometric properties of these measures, and (5) assess the external validity of these measures. The articles in this theme section present the initial findings from the SCAF project. As more training and psychopharmacological studies evaluate interventions for social cognition, the articles in this theme section are intended to serve as a guide for informed design decisions about possible endpoints in clinical trials

The effect of sex on social cognition and functioning in schizophrenia

Social cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia and plays a critical role in poor community functioning in the disorder. However, our understanding of the relationship between key biological variables and social cognitive impairment in schizophrenia is limited. This study examined the effect of sex on the levels of social cognitive impairment and the relationship between social cognitive impairment and social functioning in schizophrenia. Two hundred forty-eight patients with schizophrenia (61 female) and 87 healthy controls (31 female) completed five objective measures and one subjective measure of social cognition. The objective measures included the Facial Affect Identification, Emotion in Biological Motion, Self-Referential Memory, MSCEIT Branch 4, and Empathic Accuracy tasks. The subjective measure was the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), which includes four subscales. Patients completed measures of social and non-social functional capacity and community functioning. For objective social cognitive tasks, we found a significant sex difference only on one measure, the MSCEIT Branch 4, which in both patient and control groups, females performed better than males. Regarding the IRI, females endorsed higher empathy-related items on one subscale. The moderating role of sex was found only for the association between objective social cognition and non-social functional capacity. The relationship was stronger in male patients than female patients. In this study, we found minimal evidence of a sex effect on social cognition in schizophrenia across subjective and objective measures. Sex does not appear to moderate the association between social cognition and functioning in schizophrenia

HIV-1 Vpr Enhances Viral Burden by Facilitating Infection of Tissue Macrophages but Not Nondividing CD4+ T Cells

Prior experiments in explants of human lymphoid tissue have demonstrated that human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) productively infects diverse cellular targets including T cells and tissue macrophages. We sought to determine the specific contribution of macrophages and T cells to the overall viral burden within lymphoid tissue. To block infection of macrophages selectively while preserving infection of T cells, we used viruses deficient for viral protein R (Vpr) that exhibit profound replication defects in nondividing cells in vitro. We inoculated tonsil histocultures with matched pairs of congenic viruses that differed only by the presence of a wild-type or truncated vpr gene. Although these viruses exhibited no reduction in the infection or depletion of T cells, the ability of the Vpr-deficient R5 virus to infect tissue macrophages was severely impaired compared with matched wild-type R5 virus. Interestingly, the Vpr-deficient R5 virus also exhibited a 50% reduction in overall virus replication compared with its wild-type counterpart despite the fact that macrophages represent a small fraction of the potential targets of HIV-1 infection in these tissues. Collectively, these data highlight the importance of tissue macrophages in local viral burden and further implicate roles for CC chemokine receptor 5, macrophages, and Vpr in the life cycle and pathogenesis of HIV-1

Examining the association of life course neurocognitive ability with real-world functioning in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders

There is considerable variability in neurocognitive functioning within schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, and neurocognitive performance ranges from severe global impairment to normative performance. Few investigations of neurocognitive clusters have considered the degree to which deterioration relative to premorbid neurocognitive abilities is related to key illness characteristics. Moreover, while neurocognition and community functioning are strongly related, understanding of the sources of variability in the association between these two domains is also limited; it is unknown what proportion of participants would over-perform or under-perform the level of functioning expected based on current neurocognitive performance vs. lifelong attainment. This study examined data from 954 outpatients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders across three previous studies. Neurocognition, community functioning, and symptoms were assessed. Neurocognitive subgroups were created based on current neurocognition, estimated premorbid IQ, and degree of deterioration from premorbid using z-score cut-offs; functional subgroups were created with cluster analysis based on the Specific Level of Functioning Scale and current neurocognition. The sample was neurocognitively heterogeneous; 65% displayed current neurocognitive impairment and 84% experienced some level of deterioration. Thirty percent of our sample was relatively higher functioning despite significant neurocognitive impairment. Individuals with better community functioning, regardless of neurocognitive performance, had lower symptom severity compared to those with worse functioning. These results highlight the variability in neurocognition and its role in functioning. Understanding individual differences in neurocognitive and functional profiles and the interaction between prior and current cognitive functioning can guide individualized treatment and selection of participants for clinical treatment studies

Draft Genome Sequences of Six Novel Bacterial Isolates from Chicken Ceca

The chicken is the most common domesticated animal and the most abundant bird in the world. However, the chicken gut is home to many previously uncharacterized bacterial taxa. Here, we report draft genome sequences from six bacterial isolates from chicken ceca, all of which fall outside any named species

The HP0256 gene product is involved in motility and cell envelope architecture of Helicobacter pylori

Background: Helicobacter pylori is the causative agent for gastritis, and peptic and duodenal ulcers. The bacterium displays 5-6 polar sheathed flagella that are essential for colonisation and persistence in the gastric mucosa. The biochemistry and genetics of flagellar biogenesis in H. pylori has not been fully elucidated. Bioinformatics analysis suggested that the gene HP0256, annotated as hypothetical, was a FliJ homologue. In Salmonella, FliJ is a chaperone escort protein for FlgN and FliT, two proteins that themselves display chaperone activity for components of the hook, the rod and the filament. Results: Ablation of the HP0256 gene in H. pylori significantly reduced motility. However, flagellin and hook protein synthesis was not affected in the HP0256 mutant. Transmission electron transmission microscopy revealed that the HP0256 mutant cells displayed a normal flagellum configuration, suggesting that HP0256 was not essential for assembly and polar localisation of the flagella in the cell. Interestingly, whole genome microarrays of an HP0256 mutant revealed transcriptional changes in a number of genes associated with the flagellar regulon and the cell envelope, such as outer membrane proteins and adhesins. Consistent with the array data, lack of the HP0256 gene significantly reduced adhesion and the inflammatory response in host cells. Conclusions: We conclude that HP0256 is not a functional counterpart of FliJ in H. pylori. However, it is required for full motility and it is involved, possibly indirectly, in expression of outer membrane proteins and adhesins involved in pathogenesis and adhesion

In Utero Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke Potentiates Adult Responses to Allergen in BALB/c Mice

BACKGROUND: Fetal stress has been linked to adult atherosclerosis, obesity, and diabetes. Epidemiology studies have associated fetal exposure to maternal smoking and postnatal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) with increased asthma risk. OBJECTIVE: We tested the hypothesis, in a mouse model of asthma, that in utero ETS exposure alters airway function and respiratory immune responses in adults. METHODS: Pregnant Balb/c mice were exposed daily to ETS or HEPA-filtered air (AIR). Offspring inhaled aerosolized ovalbumin (OVA) or saline in weeks 7–8. Regardless of whether they inhaled OVA or saline, mice were sensitized by OVA injections in weeks 11 and 13 followed by OVA aerosol challenge in weeks 14–15. At three time points, we assessed OVA-specific serum immunoglobins, bronchoalveolar lavage cells and cytokines, lung and nasal histopathology, and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). RESULTS: At 6 weeks, we found no significant differences between in utero ETS and AIR mice. At 10 weeks, following OVA aerosol, ETS mice displayed greater AHR than AIR mice (α = 0.05), unaccompanied by changes in histopathology, cytokine profile, or antibody levels. At 15 weeks, mice that had inhaled saline in weeks 7–8 developed airway inflammation: eosinophilia (α = 0.05), interleukin-5 (α = 0.05), and AHR (α = 0.05) were greater in ETS mice than in AIR mice. Mice that had inhaled OVA in weeks 7–8 demonstrated no airway inflammation after sensitization and challenge. CONCLUSION: In utero ETS exposure exacerbates subsequent adult responses to initial allergen exposure

Attentional-shaping as a means to improve emotion perception deficits in schizophrenia

Inability to recognize emotional expressions of others (emotion perception) is one of the most common impairments observed among individuals with schizophrenia. Such deficits presumably contribute much to the social dysfunction characteristic of schizophrenia. This study examined the efficacy of a novel attentional-shaping intervention to improve emotion perception abilities. Sixty participants with schizophrenia were randomly assigned to one of three intervention conditions: 1) attentional-shaping, 2) contingent monetary reinforcement, or 3) repeated practice. Participants completed the Face Emotion Identification Test (FEIT) at pre-test, intervention, post-test, and one week follow-up. Participants also completed the Bell-Lysaker Emotion Recognition Test (BLERT) and the Social Behavior Scale at pre-test and follow-up to measure generalization