Decision-making ability in current and past users of opiates: A meta-analysis

Opiate use is associated with deficits in decision-making. However, the impact of abstinence and co-morbid factors, like head injury and polysubstance abuse, on this ability, is currently unclear. This meta-analysis aimed to assess 1) the magnitude of decision-making deficits in opiate users; 2) whether co-morbid factors moderate the severity of these deficits; 3) whether ex-opiate users demonstrate smaller decision-making deficits than current users; and 4) whether the length of abstinence is related to the magnitude of decision-making deficits. We analysed 22 studies that compared the performance of current and ex-opiate users to healthy controls on decision-making measures such as the Iowa Gambling Task. Current users demonstrated a moderately strong impairment in decision-making relative to controls, which was not significantly moderated by co-morbid factors. The magnitude of the impairment did not significantly differ between studies assessing current or ex-users, and this impairment was not related to length of abstinence. Thus, it appears that opiate users have relatively severe decision-making deficits that persist at least 1.5 years after cessation of use

Aspectos microbiológicos e epidemiológicos dos surtos causados por Salmonella sp em criações não industriais de Gallus gallus domesticus no Estado do Paraná

Orientador: Yasuyoshi HayashiDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Parana, Setor de Ciencias AgrariasCom o objetivo de verificar a participação de Salmonella sp como causa de mortalidade entre as aves domésticas das criações caseiras no Estado do Paraná, foram analisadas, no período de 1987 a 1991, 671 amostras de aves, obtendo-se 7,0% de isolamento positivo, totalizando 47 cepas do microrganismo. Foram encontrados três sorovares causando doença, entre os quais, S.gallinarum (82,9%) responsável pela maioria dos surtos, seguido pela S.pullorum (12,7%) e S.enteritidis (4,2%). Vale ressaltar que o sorovar S.pullorum afetou somente as aves adultas. As 47 cepas de Salmonella pertenciam ao sorogrupo D1 , apresentando semelhante sensibilidade e resistência aos antibióticos e quimioterápicos quando testados "in vitro". Comprovou-se estatisticamente correlação entre o isolamento dos três sorovares citados com a morbidade e mortalidade ocorridas. Quanto ao sorovar S.gallinarum, as taxas médias de morbidade e mortalidade observadas nas aves consideradas jovens adultas (duas a oito semanas de idade) e adultas (mais de oito semanas de idade), situaram-se em 17 ,8%, 34,3% e 17,3%, 33,6%, respectivamente. No que se refere à S.pullorum as mesmas faixas etárias em relação a morbidade foram de 3,2% e 26,9% e mortalidade de 3,2% e 24,8%. S.enteritidis causou índices de morbidade de 23,8% e mortalidade de 22,6% somente na faixa etária das aves consideradas adultas. As aves jovens (1 a 14 dias de idade) não foram afetadas pela doença. Os percentuais de letalidade em relação à S.gallinarum, S.pullorum e S.enteritidis, foram de 97 ,9%, 93,3% e 95,0%, respectivamente. Observou-se ainda que a salmonelose ocorreu em todos os meses do ano. No entanto, quando distribuídos nas estações do ano, a primavera (31,9%) concentrou maior número de surtos, seguido do outono (25,5%), verão (23,4%) e inverno (19,1%)In order to check the role of the Salmonella as the cause of mortality of non commercial flocks of chicken in the State of Parana - Brazil, between 1987 and 1991, 671 samples were analyzed. The percentage of positive cases was 7,0%, comprising 47 different strains of the microorganism. Three serovars of Salmonella affected the birds. S.gallinarum was present in 82,9% of the outbreaks, S.pullorum in 12,7%, and S.enteritidis in only 4,2% of them. It is important to notice that S.pullorum affected only adult animals. When tested "in vitro" all the 47 strains of Salmonella belonged to the D1 serogroup, and showed similar resistance and sensitivity to antibacterial drugs. There is statistically significant correlation between the isolated serovars and the occurrence of morbidity and mortality .The mean rates of morbidity and mortality caused by the S.gallinarum serovar were respectively 17,8% and 34,3%, for young adults (two to eight weeks) and 17,3% and 33,6%, for adults (more than eight weeks). For the same are groups, the mean rates related to morbidity and mortality caused by S.pullorum was 3,2% and 26,9%, and 3,2% and 24,8%, respectively .The S.enteritidis affected only adult birds, causing 23,8% of morbidity and 22,6% of mortality. The group of young birds (one to 14 days) did not show morbidity or mortality .The lethality caused by S.gallinarum, S.pullorum and S.enteritidis was 97,9%, 93,3% and 95,0%, respectively. The salmonellosis was observed in all months of the year, with the greater number of outbreaks in the spring (31,9%). The percentages for the other seasons were 25,5%,23,4% and 19,1%, for the fallt, summer and winter, respectivel

Specialization of amygdala subregions in emotion processing

The amygdala is important for human fear processing. However, recent research has failed to reveal specificity, with evidence that the amygdala also responds to other emotions. A more nuanced understanding of the amygdala's role in emotion processing, particularly relating to fear, is needed given the importance of effective emotional functioning for everyday function and mental health. We studied 86 healthy participants (44 females), aged 18–49 (mean 26.12 ± 6.6) years, who underwent multiband functional magnetic resonance imaging. We specifically examined the reactivity of four amygdala subregions (using regions of interest analysis) and related brain connectivity networks (using generalized psycho-physiological interaction) to fear, angry, and happy facial stimuli using an emotional face-matching task. All amygdala subregions responded to all stimuli (p-FDR <.05), with this reactivity strongly driven by the superficial and centromedial amygdala (p-FDR <.001). Yet amygdala subregions selectively showed strong functional connectivity with other occipitotemporal and inferior frontal brain regions with particular sensitivity to fear recognition and strongly driven by the basolateral amygdala (p-FDR <.05). These findings suggest that amygdala specialization to fear may not be reflected in its local activity but in its connectivity with other brain regions within a specific face-processing network

Cannabis Dependence is Associated with Reduced Hippocampal Subregion Volumes Independently of Sex: Findings from an ENIGMA Addiction Working Group Multi-Country Study.

Background: Males and females who consume cannabis can experience different mental health and cognitive problems. Neuroscientific theories of addiction postulate that dependence is underscored by neuroadaptations, but do not account for the contribution of distinct sexes. Further, there is little evidence for sex differences in the neurobiology of cannabis dependence as most neuroimaging studies have been conducted in largely male samples in which cannabis dependence, as opposed to use, is often not ascertained. Methods: We examined subregional hippocampus and amygdala volumetry in a sample of 206 people recruited from the ENIGMA Addiction Working Group. They included 59 people with cannabis dependence (17 females), 49 cannabis users without cannabis dependence (20 females), and 98 controls (33 females). Results: We found no group-by-sex effect on subregional volumetry. The left hippocampal cornu ammonis subfield 1 (CA1) volumes were lower in dependent cannabis users compared with non-dependent cannabis users (pd=0.32) and with controls (p=0.022, d=0.18). Further, the left cornu ammonis subfield 3 (CA3) and left dentate gyrus volumes were lower in dependent versus non-dependent cannabis users but not versus controls (p=0.002, d=0.37, and p=0.002, d=0.31, respectively). All models controlled for age, intelligence quotient (IQ), alcohol and tobacco use, and intracranial volume. Amygdala volumetry was not affected by group or group-by-sex, but was smaller in females than males. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the relationship between cannabis dependence and subregional volumetry was not moderated by sex. Specifically, dependent (rather than non-dependent) cannabis use may be associated with alterations in selected hippocampus subfields high in cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptors and implicated in addictive behavior. As these data are cross-sectional, it is plausible that differences predate cannabis dependence onset and contribute to the initiation of cannabis dependence. Longitudinal neuroimaging work is required to examine the time-course of the onset of subregional hippocampal alterations in cannabis dependence, and their progression as cannabis dependence exacerbates or recovers over time

Sex differences in the neuroanatomy of alcohol dependence: hippocampus and amygdala subregions in a sample of 966 people from the ENIGMA Addiction Working Group

Males and females with alcohol dependence have distinct mental health and cognitive problems. Animal models of addiction postulate that the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are partially distinct, but there is little evidence of sex differences in humans with alcohol dependence as most neuroimaging studies have been conducted in males. We examined hippocampal and amygdala subregions in a large sample of 966 people from the ENIGMA Addiction Working Group. This comprised 643 people with alcohol dependence (225 females), and a comparison group of 323 people without alcohol dependence (98 females). Males with alcohol dependence had smaller volumes of the total amygdala and its basolateral nucleus than male controls, that exacerbated with alcohol dose. Alcohol dependence was also associated with smaller volumes of the hippocampus and its CA1 and subiculum subfield volumes in both males and females. In summary, hippocampal and amygdalar subregions may be sensitive to both shared and distinct mechanisms in alcohol-dependent males and females

Prospective memory performance in traumatic brain injury patients: A study of implementation intentions

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients often present with prospective memory (PM) dysfunction. Forgetting to complete tasks may result in a loss of independence, limited employment prospects and anxiety, therefore, it is important to develop programs to improve PM performance in TBI patients. A strategy which may improve PM performance is implementation intentions. It involves making explicit plans specifying when, where and how one will perform a task in the future. In the present study, a group of 36 TBI patients and a group of 34 controls performed Virtual Week using either implementation intentions or no strategy. The results showed that the PM performance of TBI patients was less accurate than controls, in particular when the PM cue was time-based. No effect of implementation intentions was observed for TBI patients, however, controls improved their PM performance when the task was time-based. The findings suggest that strategies to improve PM in this clinical group are likely to be more complex than those that benefit healthy adults and may involve targeting phases of the PM process other than, or in addition to, the intention formation phase

Decision-making, somatic markers and emotion processing in opiate users

Rationale Opiate use is associated with deficits in decision-making. A possible explanation for these deficits is provided by the somatic marker hypothesis, which suggests that substance users may experience abnormal emotional responses during decision-making involving reward and punishment. This in turn may interfere with the brief physiological arousal, i.e. somatic markers that normally occur in anticipation of risky decisions. To date, the applicability of the somatic marker hypothesis to explain decision-making deficits has not been investigated in opiate users. Objectives This study assessed whether decision-making deficits in opiate users were related to abnormal emotional responses and reduced somatic markers. Methods Opiate users enrolled in an opiate substitute treatment program (n = 28) and healthy controls (n = 32) completed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) while their skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded. Participants’ emotional responses to emotion-eliciting videos were also recorded using SCRs and subjective ratings. Results Opiate users displayed poorer decision-making on the IGT than did controls. However, there were no differences between the groups in SCRs; both groups displayed stronger SCRs following punishment than following reward, and both groups displayed stronger anticipatory SCRs prior to disadvantageous decisions than advantageous decisions. There were no group differences in objective or subjective measures of emotional responses to the videos. Conclusions The results suggest that deficits in emotional responsiveness are not apparent in opiate users who are receiving pharmacological treatment. Thus, the somatic marker hypothesis does not provide a good explanation for the decision-making deficits in this group

The relationship between body dysmorphic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder: A systematic review of direct comparative studies

Objective: Current nosology conceptualises body dysmorphic disorder as being related to obsessive-compulsive disorder, but the direct evidence to support this conceptualisation is mixed. In this systematic review, we aimed to provide an integrated overview of research that has directly compared body dysmorphic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Method: The PubMed database was searched for empirical studies which had directly compared body dysmorphic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder groups across any subject matter. Of 379 records, 31 met inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Results: Evidence of similarities between body dysmorphic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder was identified for broad illness features, including age of onset, illness course, symptom severity and level of functional impairment, as well as high perfectionism and high fear of negative evaluation. However, insight was clearly worse in body dysmorphic disorder than obsessive-compulsive disorder, and preliminary data also suggested unique visual processing features, impaired facial affect recognition, increased social anxiety severity and overall greater social-affective dysregulation in body dysmorphic disorder relative to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Conclusion: Limitations included a restricted number of studies overall, an absence of studies comparing biological parameters (e.g. neuroimaging), and the frequent inclusion of participants with comorbid body dysmorphic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Risks of interpreting common features as indications of shared underlying mechanisms are explored, and evidence of differences between the disorders are placed in the context of broader research findings. Overall, this review suggests that the current nosological status of body dysmorphic disorder is somewhat tenuous and requires further investigation, with particular focus on dimensional, biological and aetiological elements