Demographic and clinical characteristics of 1092 consecutive police custody mental health referrals

The 43 police forces in England and Wales have made over 13 million arrests in the last decade. Yet despite this high volume criminal justice system activity, and evidence of substantial health morbidity across the criminal justice pathway, mental health services in police custody have so far only been developed in patches, and the literature in this area is limited. Referrals (n=1092) to a pilot mental health service operating across two police stations in a London borough were examined over an 18-month period in 2012/13. The referred group had high levels of mental health and substance misuse problems (including acute mental illness, intoxication and withdrawal), self-harm, suicide risk and vulnerability, with some important gender differences. Although this work has limitations, the findings are broadly consistent with the small existing literature and they confirm the need for services that are sufficiently resourced to meet the presenting needs

Suicide ideation amongst people referred for mental health assessment in police custody

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of suicide ideation amongst a group of people who had been arrested and taken into police custody, and were then referred to a mental health service operating in the police stations. Design/methodology/approach A referred sample of 888 cases were collected over an 18-month period during 2012/2013. Clinical assessments were conducted using a template in which background information was collected (including information about their previous clinical history, substance misuse, alleged offence, any pre-identified diagnoses, and the response of the service) as part of the standard operating procedure of the service. Data were analysed using a statistical software package. Findings In total, 16.2 per cent (n=144) reported suicide ideation, with women being more likely to report than men. In total, 82.6 per cent of the suicide ideation sample reported a history of self-harm or a suicide attempt. Suicide ideation was also associated with certain diagnostic categories (depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and personality disorder), a history of contact with mental health services, and recent (within 24 hours) consumption of alcohol or drugs. Originality/value This evaluation adds to the limited literature in this area by describing a large sample from a real clinical service. It provides information that can assist with future service designs and it offers support for calls for a standardised health screening process, better safety arrangements for those who have recently used alcohol or drugs (within 24 hours) and integrated service delivery across healthcare domains (i.e. physical healthcare, substance use, and mental health)

Neural correlates of visuospatial working memory in the ‘at-risk mental state’

Background. Impaired spatial working memory (SWM) is a robust feature of schizophrenia and has been linked to the risk of developing psychosis in people with an at-risk mental state (ARMS). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the neural substrate of SWM in the ARMS and in patients who had just developed schizophrenia. Method. fMRI was used to study 17 patients with an ARMS, 10 patients with a first episode of psychosis and 15 agematched healthy comparison subjects. The blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response was measured while subjects performed an object–location paired-associate memory task, with experimental manipulation of mnemonic load. Results. In all groups, increasing mnemonic load was associated with activation in the medial frontal and medial posterior parietal cortex. Significant between-group differences in activation were evident in a cluster spanning the medial frontal cortex and right precuneus, with the ARMS groups showing less activation than controls but greater activation than first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients. These group differences were more evident at the most demanding levels of the task than at the easy level. In all groups, task performance improved with repetition of the conditions. However, there was a significant group difference in the response of the right precuneus across repeated trials, with an attenuation of activation in controls but increased activation in FEP and little change in the ARMS. Conclusions. Abnormal neural activity in the medial frontal cortex and posterior parietal cortex during an SWM task may be a neural correlate of increased vulnerability to psychosis

Taking the edge off: a feasibility randomized controlled trial of an online mindfulness-based intervention to reduce suspiciousness/paranoia in high positive schizotypy

Clinical Trial Registration::https://www.isrctn.com/, identifier ISRCTN78697391 .Data availability statement: The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.Supplementary material: The Supplementary material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1380077/full#supplementary-material .Positive schizotypy can uniquely predict the development of psychosis with suspiciousness/paranoia having emerged as a key risk factor, pointing to significant worth in reducing this aspect in individuals with high positive schizotypy. Reduced paranoia in the general population following brief online mindfulness training has been previously reported. This study investigated the feasibility of a 40-day online mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) (n = 12) in the individuals with high positive schizotypy characterized by high suspiciousness/paranoia and to estimate its effect on paranoia as compared with an active control condition using reflective journaling (n = 12). The outcome measures were self-reported trait and VR-induced state paranoia, completed at baseline, after 10 days and post-intervention. The feasibility criteria included retention, adherence, engagement, and acceptability. There was 100% retention, excellent adherence to content and engagement, with an average MBI session completion rate of 91%. Acceptability, indexed by a self-rated motivation to continue practice post-intervention, was also high. No MBI effect on trait paranoia was observed; however, the MBI group showed a reduction in the VR-induced state paranoia with a medium-to-large effect (d = 0.63). The findings support conducting larger-scale randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effects of online MBIs on reducing suspiciousness/paranoia to mitigate psychosis risk in individuals with high positive schizotypy.This research was funded by the John Grace PhD Scholarship 2017, Mental Health Research UK, to PC and EA (Project title: Turning the Curse into a Blessing: Using Mindfulness to Reduce Schizophrenia Vulnerability in Psychosis-Prone Individuals), and the European Varela Award, Mind and Life Europe, to HM (2018-EVA-McDonald, Heather)

Cynomolgus monkey's choroid reference database derived from hybrid deep learning optical coherence tomography segmentation.

Cynomolgus monkeys exhibit human-like features, such as a fovea, so they are often used in non-clinical research. Nevertheless, little is known about the natural variation of the choroidal thickness in relation to origin and sex. A combination of deep learning and a deterministic computer vision algorithm was applied for automatic segmentation of foveolar optical coherence tomography images in cynomolgus monkeys. The main evaluation parameters were choroidal thickness and surface area directed from the deepest point on OCT images within the fovea, marked as the nulla with regard to sex and origin. Reference choroid landmarks were set underneath the nulla and at 500 µm intervals laterally up to a distance of 2000 µm nasally and temporally, complemented by a sub-analysis of the central bouquet of cones. 203 animals contributed 374 eyes for a reference choroid database. The overall average central choroidal thickness was 193 µm with a coefficient of variation of 7.8%, and the overall mean surface area of the central bouquet temporally was 19,335 µm2 and nasally was 19,283 µm2. The choroidal thickness of the fovea appears relatively homogeneous between the sexes and the studied origins. However, considerable natural variation has been observed, which needs to be appreciated

Substance use and at-risk mental state for psychosis in 2102 prisoners: the case for early detection and early intervention in prison

Aim Prisoners exhibit high rates of substance use and mental health problems. In the present study, we sought to gain a detailed understanding of substance use amongst young prisoners to inform early detection and early intervention strategies in a prison setting. Methods This is a cross‐sectional study of 2102 prisoners who were screened by the London Early Detection and Prevention in Prison Team (LEAP). Data on the use of substances were collected including age of first use, recent use, duration of use and poly‐drug use. The Prodromal Questionnaire – Brief Version was used to screen for the at‐risk mental state. Results We found high rates of lifetime and recent use and low age of first use of a number of substances. We also found strong associations between substance use and screening positive for an at‐risk mental state. Logistic regression analysis confirmed that use of any drug in the last year, poly‐drug and early use, as well as heavy alcohol use, were related to an increased risk of screening positive. Conclusions Substance use in the prison population is not only widespread and heavy but is also strongly linked with a higher risk of developing mental health problems. The need for early detection and early intervention in prison is discussed