A Possible Solution to the Etiological Paradox that Ties Anti-Social Personality Disorder to Major Depression

Abstract. Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a pervasive condition among youngsters around the globe, which has particular pungency in countries where the socioeconomic context favors delinquency. Several behavioral genetics studies have linked the disorder to the presence of copies of a polymorphic variation of the MAO-A gene that leads to enzymatic hypofunction. An emerging tendency in this literature is to also associate it to the presence of short variations of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism, which is well-known for its possible role in the vulnerability to major depression of individuals that were exposed to early-life stress. The current paper argues that the association of these findings introduce a theoretical problem that is not trivial ("an apparent paradox"), and further proposes a solution to it

Tendencias del neurofeedback en psicología: revisión sistemática

Neurofeedback is a non-invasive method of operant conditioning designed to produce improvements in clinical and performance enhancement or sense of well-being in normal people by inducing neuroplastic effects in the brain.Objectives: Overview the literature indexed in PubMed and Scopus, and review the studies on attention deficit disorder and cognitive enhancement, performance and sense of well-being in normal people. Results: there are 156 complete articles published in Journals indexed in PubMed, 249 in Scopus, and an overall number of 310 papers. The application of the technique to the treatment of attention deficit disorder is well established in the literature, while the use for non-clinic conditions is still under development.Neurofeedback es una modalidad no invasiva de condicionamiento operante que tiene el objetivo de producir mejoras en cuadros clínicos y el aumento de la actuación o la sensación de bienestar en personas normales, por medio de la inducción de alteraciones plásticas cerebrales. Objetivos: Generar un panorama general de la literatura indexada en PubMed y Scopus y revisar la literatura en déficit de atención y en aumento de la cognición, actuación y sensación de bienestar en sujetos normales. Resultados: existen 156 artículos completos publicados en revistas indexadas en PubMed, 249 en Scopus y 310 en total. El uso para tratamiento de déficit de atención está bien establecido en la literatura, al paso que el uso para condiciones no clínicas permanece en franco desarrollo.Neurofeedback é uma modalidade não invasiva de condicionamento operante que visa produzir melhoras em quadros clínicos e aumento da performance ou sensação de bem-estar em pessoas normais, através da indução de alterações plásticas cerebrais. Os objetivos do estudo consistiram em gerar um panorama geral da literatura indexada no PubMed e Scopus e revisar a literatura em déficit de atenção e aumento da cognição, performance e sensação de bem-estar em sujeitos normais. Constatou-se que existem 156 artigos completos publicados em periódicos indexados no PubMed, 249 na Scopus e 310 ao todo. O uso para tratamento de déficit de atenção está bem-estabelecido na literatura, ao passo que o uso para condições não clínicas permanece em franco desenvolvimento.UNIFESP Universidade de São Paulo Faculdade de MedicinaUNIFESP, Universidade de São Paulo Faculdade de MedicinaSciEL

Commentary: Free Will and Neuroscience: From Explaining Freedom Away to New Ways of Operationalizing and Measuring It

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Psychiat, Clin Neurosci Lab LinC, Sao Paulo, BrazilDepartment of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 2015/03931-0Web of Scienc

¿Representan las endorfinas la base bioquímica de la herencia de la información mental?

Context: In a recent article (06/2009), Halabe Bucay presents the hypothesis that endorphins can be a core element in the transmission of mental information produced during life to the next generation. This paper argues that Bucay’s model is based on four essential axioms, which are subject to debate. Objective: the aim of this paper is to discuss these specific axioms and evaluate the feasibility of the hypothesis. Conclusion: the specific axioms are: 1. “Endorphins act directly on different sperm function which implies their influence on the genetic expressivity of the same”; 2. Exogenous opioids affect genes and this could be a means through which acquired information could be transmitted to the next generations under the influence of endogenous opioids; 3. “Mental information produced through life” could be transmitted; 4. Endorphins are specifically related to the presumed phenomenon, thus justifying the epistemological frame. The four axioms are contested by most (if not all) studies addressing these specific issues which leads us to conclude that the hypothesis cannot be held. At the same time, the hypothesis presents a timely opportunity to discuss the role of neuropeptides on behavior and their possible role in the constitution of the brain, in regard to which we add that it is possible that endorphin levels within fetal and neonate milieus are associated with epigenic processes (e.g., methylations) and produce lifelong effects –although we do not develop this idea further, since it would require a totally different focus, based on completely different axioms.En un artículo reciente (06/2009) Halabe Bucay presenta la hipótesis de que las endorfinas pueden ser un elemento clave en la transmisión a la siguiente generación de información mental producida a lo largo de la vida. Este artículo sostiene que el modelo de Bucay está basado en cuatro axiomas esenciales, sujetos a debate. El objetivo de este artículo es discutir esos axiomas específicos y evaluar la viabilidad de la hipótesis. Los axiomas específicos son: 1) Las endorfinas actúan directamente en funciones espermáticas diferentes, lo que implica una influencia en la expresividad genética de las mismas, 2) Los opioides exógenos afectan los genes y éste puede ser un medio a través del cual se puede transmitir la información adquirida a la siguiente generación bajo la influencia de opioides endógenos; 3) La información mental producida a lo largo de la vida puede ser transmitida; 4) Las endorfinas están específicamente relacionadas con el presunto fenómeno, lo que justifica el marco epistemológico. Los cuatro axiomas son refutados por la mayoría (si no todos) de los estudios que abordan estos temas específicos, lo que nos lleva a concluir que dicha hipótesis no se sostiene. Al mismo tiempo, la hipótesis presenta una oportunidad única para discutir el papel de los neuropéptidos en el comportamiento y su posible rol en la constitución del cerebro. Al respecto, agregamos que es posible que los niveles de endorfinas en los entornos fetal y neonatal estén asociados con procesos epigenéticos (por ejemplo, la metilación) y tengan efectos a lo largo de toda la vida, -aunque no desarrollamos en profundidad esta idea por cuanto ello requeriría un enfoque totalmente diferente, basado en axiomas completamente distintos-

The Integration of the Glutamatergic and the White Matter Hypotheses of Schizophrenia's Etiology

Background: schizophrenia's endophenotipic profile is not only generally complex, but often varies from case to case. The perspective of trying to define specific anatomic correlates of the syndrome has led to disappointing results. In that context, neurophysiologic hypotheses (e. g. glutamatergic hypothesis) and connectivity hypotheses became prominent. Nevertheless, despite their commitment to the principle of denying 'localist' views and approaching the syndrome's endophenotype from a whole brain perspective, efforts to integrate both have not flourished at this moment in time. Objectives: This paper aims to introduce a new etiological model that integrates the glutamatergic and the WM (WM) hypotheses of schizophrenia's etiology. This model proposes to serve as a framework in order to relate to patterns of brain abnormalities from the onset of the syndrome to stages of advanced chronification. Highlights: Neurotransmitter abnormalities forego noticeable WM abnormalities. The former, chiefly represented by NMDAR hypo-function and associated molecular cascades, is related to the first signs of cell loss. This process is both directly and indirectly integrated to the underpinning of WM structural abnormalities; not only is the excess of glutamate toxic to the WM, but its disruption is associated to the expression of known genetic risk factors (e. g., NRG-1). A second level of the model develops the idea that abnormal neurotransmission within specific neural populations ('motifs') impair particular cognitive abilities, while subsequent WM structural abnormalities impair the integration of brain functions and multimodality. As a result of this two-stage dynamic, the affected individual progresses from experiencing specific cognitive and psychological deficits, to a condition of cognitive and existential fragmentation, linked to hardly reversible decreases in psychosocial functioning

The Role of Cognitive Dissonance in Social Networks

Context:
The principles behind the process of creating new, spontaneous sequences out of previously ordered non-declarative stimuli have been scarcely addressed and, for such reason, remain highly unknown. 

Objective:
This paper has four interconnected goals: 
(1) Introduce a new software-based neuropsychological test that can be used as a means to assess key aspects of the way people order and reorder non-declarative stimuli, based upon cognitive dissonance principles; (2) introduce a mathematical approach to the latter in ordering/re-ordering of non-declarative stimuli; 
(3) assess whether the principles of cognitive dissonance in ordering/re-ordering hold for a cohort of young adults with upper socio-economic level; 
(4) access the extent to which the same holds for children and adolescents and trace a curve of maturation of cognitive dissonance in ordering/re-ordering. 

Methods:
Our multi-age and multi-language social Network Test implies the two stages, first the subject must order figures of human faces in order of preference, next, the software provides him with different pairs of figures which the subject must fulfill in order to built the intermediate arrays that he believe to interconnect the original pair. Our mathematical model is centered around the relation defined by increases in the distance separating these different pairs of figures in the initial order (distances 1, 5 and 11) and related increases in the mean number of intermediate arrays placed in the re-ordering phase; 105 subjects were tested. 

Results:
The tendency to produce reorders that are consonant to the one produced in the initial phase increases with age. This trend inspired us to propose a cognitive dissonance index in spontaneous ordering/reordering of non-declarative stimuli, which may formalize the operation of a previously unknown cognitive dimension of the human mind and may serve as an index of cognitive maturation. To the extent that further studies endorse these perspectives, the tests, formulas, and theoretical principals may support new diagnostic methods and explorations in cognitive science

Esquizofrenia, genética, epigênesis, ambiente: uma revisão sistemática das hipóteses etiológicas unifi cadas e do perfi l genética; e um novo algoritmo para o tratamento dos achados principais

Context: schizophrenia is a highly complex syndrome, related to genes, and to non-genetic risk factors. Famous epidemiological studies reported its presence among all cultures and geographic regions. In that sense, Unifi ed Etiological hypothesis face the challenge to both present experimental data, and to show that the fi ndings may cope with the syndrome’s universal profi le. Objectives: systematically review the most prominent Unifi ed Etiological hypothesis, as much as the semantic distribution of genetic fi ndings (under up to date data mining techniques), and propose a new model, based on the dynamic effects of epigenics over genetic activation in both neurodevelopment and early adulthood. Results: in general, Unifi ed Etiological Hypothesis contradict the main genetic fi ndings (which suggest that schizophrenias’ genes are mostly associated with neurotransmitter profi - les, like D-1 and the Glutamate-NMDA cascade); also in general, genetic fi ndings are spread all over the genome (as we reveal with a topological map of the 3519 studies on the matter). The key for this conundrum may be represented by the association between the perspective that each polymorphism associated with schizophrenia represents a statistical risk factor (e.g. increasing the risk of developmental instability) while epigenetic molecular cascades and environmental factors considerably infl uence this picture, affecting genetic activation within critical periods.Contexto: la esquizofrenia es un síndrome complejo relacionado con genes y factores de riesgo no genéticos. Estudios epidemiológicos reconocidos reportan su presencia en todas las culturas y regiones geográficas. En este sentido, las Hipótesis Etiológicas Unificadas enfrentan simultáneamente el desafío de presentar los datos experimentales y demostrar que éstos dan cuenta del perfil universal del síndrome. Objetivos: revisar sistemáticamente las más prominentes Hipótesis Etiológicas Unifi - cadas, así como la distribución semántica de los hallazgos genéticos (mediante técnicas de minería de datos) y proponer un nuevo modelo, basado en los efectos dinámicos de carácter epigenético sobre la activación genética en el neurodesarrollo y la pubertad. Resultados: de manera general, las Hipótesis Etiológicas Unificadas contradicen los  principales hallazgos genéticos (que sugieren que la esquizofrenia está asociada al perfil de neurotransmisores como D-1 y la cascada Glutamato-NMDA); también, por regla general, los hallazgos genéticos se encuentran esparcidos por todo el genoma (tal como revelamos en un mapa topológico de los 3519 estudios en el asunto). La clave para este estado complejo de cosas puede estar representada por la asociación entre la perspectiva de que cada polimorfismo asociado a la esquizofrenia representa un factor de riesgo estadístico (es decir, aumentando el riesgo de inestabilidades del desarrollo), mientras que las cascadas moleculares de carácter epigenético y los factores de riesgo ambientales permanecen actuantes mediante la activación de genes en períodos críticos

Intervenção precoce em psicose: um mapa das iniciativas clínicas e de pesquisa na América Latina

OBJECTIVE: This article aims to review Latin America's early intervention services in psychosis and to shed light into their challenges and particularities. METHOD: An internet-based search comprising medical societies' websites, published articles, and major universities' websites was conducted and the results were critically discussed. RESULTS: Latin American countries are profoundly deficient in specialized early intervention services. Our search found seven target services, four of which are based in urban areas of Brazil, inside tertiary hospitals or universities. Among the initiatives advanced by these centers, there are partnerships with the public educational system and other community-based efforts toward knowledge transfer. On the other hand, several challenges remain to be overcome, especially in relation to their expansion, which is necessary to match the existing demand.OBJETIVO: Este artigo tem o objetivo de revisar os serviços de intervenção precoce em psicose na América Latina e lançar luz sobre seus desafios e particularidades. MÉTODO: Foi realizada uma busca na internet compreendendo os websites de sociedades médicas e das principais universidades e artigos publicados por autores latino-americanos e os resultados foram discutidos criticamente. RESULTADOS: Os países latino-americanos são profundamente deficientes no que diz respeito a serviços especializados de intervenção precoce em psicose. Nossa busca encontrou sete serviços principais, quatro dos quais baseados em áreas urbanas do Brasil, dentro de hospitais terciários ou universidades. Dentre as iniciativas promovidas por esses centros, há parcerias com o sistema público de educação e outros esforços baseados na comunidade para transferência de conhecimento. Não obstante, vários desafios ainda devem ser superados, relacionados sobretudo à expansão de tais serviços, necessária para abarcar a demanda existente.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Department of Psychiatry Program for Recognition and Intervention in Individuals in At-Risk Mental StateUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Department of Psychiatry Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical NeurosciencesUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Department of Psychiatry Program of SchizophreniaUNIFESP, Department of Psychiatry Program for Recognition and Intervention in Individuals in At-Risk Mental StateUNIFESP, Department of Psychiatry Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical NeurosciencesUNIFESP, Department of Psychiatry Program of SchizophreniaSciEL