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Background and objectives Psychotic symptoms (PS) can be ascertained in the general population suggesting the existence of a wide psychosis phenotype. We aim to investigate the prevalence and correlates of PS in the province of Granada (Spain) in the absence of previous data. Our objectives were to establish the prevalence of PS, i.e. delusions and hallucinations, and identifying correlates with PS in search of plausible risk factors. Methods This is a cross-sectional study (GRANAD∑P study) including assessments of 809 individuals who were selected randomly from the Unified Database of the Andalusian Health System, a census covering about 98% of the entire regional population. PS were assessed by the MINI Neuropsychiatric International Interview Psychosis Subscale. A variety of potential risk factors for PS were also assessed including socio-demographics, cognitive function, psychiatric comorbidity and physical health issues. Results The prevalence of any PS in the province of Granada was 10.3% (hallucinations were detected in 6.1% of the sample and delusions in 7.4%). PS was correlated with increased suicide risk, lower functionality, having suffered childhood abuse, cannabis use, lower working memory and higher impulsivity. Conclusions The prevalence of PS in this Southern Spanish sample is similar to that found in other European populations. This may indicate that an extended subclinical psychotic phenotype can be detectable on general populations and that it associates to a variety of cognitive deficits, personality traits and environmental factors upon which we can direct preventative measures to prevent transition from subclinical non-cases to clinical cases states.

Evidence suggests an association between unemployment and general cognitive ability. Factors such as changes in environmental stimulation and the effects of stress may act as mediators in this relationship. We conduct a qualitative review and meta-analysis to determine whether an association between unemployment and general cognitive ability exists. Eighteen studies were included in the qualitative review, and six in the meta-analysis. Results of the review indicated a significant association between unemployment and lower cognitive ability. The meta–analysis supports this association, displaying a medium effect size which increased when age was included as a covariate. Both analyses point towards the existence of a relationship between unemployment and low cognition, moderated by age and promoted by the loss of stimulation obtained through employment, as well as by the stress experienced during unemployment. Based on these results, a series of suggestions are made to improve future studies in this emerging area.

The aim of this study was to examine the association between baseline executive functioning and outcome measure of treatment in 226 cocaine dependent individuals who initiated treatment in therapeutic communities TCs. The study was conducted across six TCs located in the region of Andalusia (southern Spain). Neuropsychological testing included tests of working memory, reasoning, inhibition, switching, attention interference and decision making. The outcome measures were type of discharge (treatment dropout vs. therapeutic discharge) and clinical impression of the TC outcome (clinically significant vs. non-significant changes). In the present study a prospective comparative design was used. We found significant performance differences on selective executive components which account for the type of discharge: treatment quitters had poorer attention response inhibition and attention switching than non-quitters, and the individuals who failed to achieve therapeutic objectives had poorer attention interference and inhibitory control than compliers. No significant differences were found between the outcome measure and the neuropsychological performance score on the other tasks. The results provide important information about the impact of executive components on in-treatment follow-up outcomes among dependence disorders in TC.

Aunque la terapia antirretroviral de gran actividad (TARGA) ha mejorado los indices de supervivencia de los pacientes infectados por el VIH, los trastornos neurocognitivos asociados con el VIH (TNAV) todavia existen en un grupo de personas altamente prevalente a esta enfermedad. En este estudio buscamos evaluar la influencia del consumo de drogas en el rendimiento neuropsicologico de los usuarios de drogas seropositivos. Llevamos a cabo una amplia evaluacion neuropsicologica, y el rendimiento de los usuarios de drogas seropositivos (n = 90) se comparo con la de un grupo control de usuarios de drogas seronegativos (n = 48). Los resultados demuestran que los programas de tratamiento de mantenimiento con metadona pueden convertir en vulnerable a nivel neuropsicologico al individuo seropositivo. Asimismo, descubrimos que abandonar las drogas provoca un efecto protector frente a la existencia de alteraciones neuropsicologicas asociadas con el VIH. Estos resultados nos llevan a sugerir que la seropositividad no basta para explicar las alteraciones neuropsicologicas de los usuarios de drogas seropositivos, ya que estas alteraciones al parecer son multifactoriales.

This review analyzes neuropsychology, psychophysiology, and neuroimaging studies that examine the neuropsychological functioning and the nervous system (central and peripheral) of male batterers. Previous research has attempted to establish a neuropsychological profile for batterers. Yet factors such as brain injury, drug abuse antecedents, and other methodological concerns (e.g., sample size, control group selection, education level, socio-economic status, ethnicity, variability of the specific neuropsychological measures, and constructs assessed) may have led to inconsistent results. Neuropsychological studies reveal that poor performance on tests of executive functioning, verbal skills, and vocabulary is the most frequently reported characteristic for these men. With regard to research on the central and peripheral nervous system, these results should be considered with caution due to the small number of studies conducted on this topic. Therefore, the neuroscientific approach may be utilized in future studies to provide a better account of batterer typologies, the individualization of therapeutic approaches, and the prediction of recidivism. In summary, advancing our understanding of the mind and brain functioning of male batterers may aid in the prediction and reduction of violence against women in the future.

Background Peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand activated transcription factors with crucial functions in lipid homeostasis, glucose metabolism, anti-inflammatory processes, placental development, and are involved in cognitive functions and neurodegenerative diseases. Polymorphisms in PPAR genes are shown to influence the activity of these receptors. Aims 1) To examine the association of PPARG Pro12Ala polymorphism in pregnant women and their offspring on infant's neurodevelopmental outcomes during the first 18months of life; 2) to determine the influence of Pro12Ala polymorphism on fatty acid concentrations in plasma phospholipids and placental tissue. Study design 138 mother–infant pairs from the PREOBE observational study were genotyped for PPARG Pro12Ala. Plasma phospholipids and placental fatty acid concentrations were measured at delivery. Infants' neuropsychological assessment at 6 and 18months of age was performed using Bayley III. Results The effect of Pro12Ala on infant's neurodevelopmental outcomes was detected at 18months, but not at 6months of age. 18months old infants born to mothers with wild-type Pro12 genotype had better cognitive (OR=5.11, 95% CI: 1.379–18.96, p=0.015), language (OR=3.41, 95% CI: 1.35–11.24, p=0.044), and motor development scores (OR=4.77, 95% CI: 1.243–18.33, p=0.023) than the Ala allele carriers. Pro12Ala variants did not seem to affect fatty acids concentrations in blood nor in placenta at delivery. Conclusions Infants born to mothers with Pro12 genotype have better neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18months of age than Ala allele carriers, indicating a long-term transplacental action of PPARγ variants on foetal brain development.

La investigación actual en el campo de la violencia de pareja es escasa en lo que se refiere al papel del procesamiento emocional de los maltratadores. Sin embargo, ningún estudio ha investigado en la misma muestra la capacidad de reconocer las emociones y la influencia de las emociones en los aspectos atencionales. El objetivo de este estudio es investigar en una muestra de maltratadores la capacidad de reconocer las emociones de fotografías estandarizadas y analizar la interferencia de las palabras con contenido emocional en una tarea atencional. La muestra consistió en 90 hombres condenados por violencia de pareja y 77 hombres condenados por otros delitos. Se evaluaron las características sociodemográficas asociadas a nuestra muestra y el procesamiento emocional de las expresiones faciales con la prueba de Ekman y la Tarea Stroop Emocional, diseñada específicamente para evaluar el procesamiento emocional en situaciones de violencia contra la pareja. Los resultados mostraron un mejor reconocimiento emocional de los maltratadores en las emociones faciales de enfado y sorpresa. Para el procesamiento de palabras con contenido emocional, las diferencias no fueron estadísticamente significativas. Current research in the field of intimate partner violence has been scarce as regards the role of emotional processing in abusers. Nevertheless, no study has investigated the ability to recognize emotions and the influence of emotions on attention-related aspects among the same sample. The aim of this study is to investigate the ability to recognize emotions in standardized photographs, and to analyze the interference that words with emotional content exert on an attention task in a sample of abusers. The sample consisted of 90 men convicted of intimate partner violence and 77 men convicted of other crimes. Demographic characteristics associated to the sample were evaluated, as were emotional processing of facial expressions with the Ekman Test and the Emotional Stroop task, specifically designed to assess emotional processing in situations of intimate partner violence. The results showed better emotional recognition among abusers in the recognition of facial emotions of anger and surprise. As for the processing of words with emotional content, differences were not statistically significant. Open Access funded by Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz Este trabajo ha sido financiado con los proyectos: “Caracterización y tipología neuropsicológica del maltratador” PSI 2009-13585, “Funcionamiento neuropsicológico y cerebral de maltratadores de género” concedido por la Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica del Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad y el proyecto “Predicción de la reincidencia de los maltratadores en Andalucía: Variables neuropsicológicas, de personalidad, forenses y del contexto” de la Dirección General de Universidad de la Junta de Andalucía.

It has been shown that supplementation with omega-3 improves cognitive performance, especially in infants and toddlers, but it is unknown whether these results are effective in older malnourished children. The aims of this study, therefore, were to investigate the omega-3 supplementation effects in 8- to 12-year-old children and to know which neuropsychological functions improve after three months of intervention in a sample of Mexican children with mild to moderate malnutrition. This study was a randomized, double-blind, treatment and placebo study of 59 children aged 8–12 years who were individually allocated to 2 groups. The duration of the intervention lasted 3 months. Neuropsychological performance was measured at baseline and at 3 months. Results show that more than 50% of children in the treatment group had greater improvement in 11 of the 18 neuropsychological variables studied. Processing speed, visual-motor coordination, perceptual integration, attention and executive function showed improvement in more than 70% of the omega-3 supplemented children. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01199120 .

Background Moral judgments depend on the integration of complex cognitive and emotional processes. Addiction is associated with core deficits in both cognitive and emotional processing, which may jointly lead to utilitarian biases in moral decision-making. Methods We assessed 32 polysubstance dependent males and 32 non-drug using controls using a previously validated moral judgment task, including non-moral scenarios, and moral dilemmas that were either high in emotional salience (“personal scenarios”) or low in emotional salience (“impersonal scenarios”). Results Polysubstance dependent individuals endorsed more utilitarian choices for personal dilemmas (e.g., smothering a baby to save a group of hidden people during wartime). These choices were also perceived as less difficult. Severity of alcohol use correlated with the proportion of utilitarian judgments. Conclusion Polysubstance dependent individuals show a more utilitarian pattern of moral decision-making for personal moral scenarios.

Summary In recent studies showing how stress can affect an individual's decision-making process, the cognitive component of decision-making could also be considered a coping resource available to individuals when faced with a stressful situation. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) constitutes the standard test for the assessment of decision-making skills under conditions of uncertainty. Responses of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis to psychosocial stress, in turn, have been estimated by means of cortisol measurements. Our main objective in this study was to test if good and bad IGT performers show distinct HPA axis responses, when challenged in a classic psychosocial stress test. Because women have been shown to outperform men on the IGT under the influence of psychosocial stress, we chose a sample of 40 women to take the IGT before they were exposed to a public speaking task in a virtual environment. The activation of the HPA axis, involved in the stress response, was assessed by examining the levels of cortisol in the subjects’ saliva at the following four stages: before the challenge, after the challenge, and 10 and 20 min after the task. Participants were divided into two groups according to their level of performance, good or poor, on the IGT. Results showed statistically significant differences between the groups for pre-exposure cortisol levels and for cortisol levels 20 min after exposure. Overall cortisol levels were significantly higher in the group with poor performance on the IGT. It appears that good decision-making, which may be an important resource for coping with stress, is associated with a lower HPA axis response to a psychosocial stressor.

Background Impulsivity is thought to play a key role in cocaine addiction onset and progression; therefore, we hypothesized that different facets of impulsive personality may be significantly associated with brain structural abnormalities in cocaine-dependent individuals. Methods Thirty-eight cocaine-dependent individuals and 38 non-drug using controls completed the UPPS-P scale (measuring five different facets of impulsivity: sensation seeking, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, and positive and negative urgency) and were scanned on a 3T MRI scanner. We used whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analyses (VBM) to detect differences in gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes between cocaine users and controls, and to measure differences in the way that impulsivity relates to GM and WM volumes in cocaine users vs. controls. Results Cocaine-dependent individuals had lower GM volumes in a number of sections of the orbitofrontal cortex, right inferior frontal gyrus, right insula, left amygdala and parahippocampal gyrus, temporal gyrus, and bilateral caudate. They also had lower WM volumes in the left inferior and medial frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, right anterior cingulate cortex, insula and caudate. There was a positive correlation between trait impulsivity and GM volume in the left inferior/middle frontal gyrus of cocaine-dependent individuals, a pattern directly opposed to the association in controls. Conversely, in cocaine users lack of premeditation was negatively correlated with GM volume in the insula and the putamen. Conclusions Trait impulsivity may influence cocaine dependence by impacting its neurobiological underpinnings in frontostriatal systems.

Resumen Objetivo La dependencia de cocaina afecta de manera drastica al funcionamiento social del paciente adicto, lo que podria ser el reflejo de una deficitaria inteligencia emocional (IE). A pesar de su relevancia, la mayoria de los estudios realizados en dependientes de cocaina se han centrado en estudiar el reconocimiento de expresiones faciales emocionales, pero sin profundizar en el estudio de este constructo. El objetivo principal de este estudio es explorar el constructo de IE en consumidores de cocaina y examinar la relacion entre dicho constructo y las habilidades mas basicas de reconocimiento de expresiones faciales emocionales. Material y metodos Treinta y un pacientes dependientes de cocaina (PDC) y 53 controles sanos fueron evaluados con el Inventario de pensamiento constructivo (para IE) y el Test de reconocimiento de expresiones faciales de Ekman (para reconocimiento). Resultados Los PDC obtuvieron puntuaciones mas bajas en IE y en las dimensiones emotividad, eficacia y rigidez. Los PDC tenian peor reconocimiento emocional global y peor reconocimiento del asco. La IE se correlaciona con la capacidad de reconocer emociones, corroborando el vinculo entre ambas destrezas. Conclusiones Los PDC presentan deficits en IE y en la habilidad especifica de reconocimiento de expresiones faciales emocionales. Estas carencias se relacionan con una estructura de pensamiento inflexible, falta de decision sobre la conducta ante situaciones percibidas como descontro lables y, como consecuencia, dificultades en el establecimiento de relaciones personales y sociales gratificantes. Estos deficits podrian poner en peligro la continuidad y el exito de los programas de rehabilitacion dirigidos a estos individuos.

Most substance abusers simultaneously use and abuse more than one substance, even when there is a clear drug of choice. This pattern creates a great challenge in relating neuropsychological findings in drug users to a certain drug. This review aims to: (i) discuss results from neuropsychological studies using different research methodologies that may improve our understanding of specific vs. generalized effects of different drugs on neuropsychological performance; and (ii) determine which neuropsychological mechanisms are impaired in the same way by the use of different drugs, and which impairments are specific to certain substances, including cannabis, psychostimulants, opioids and alcohol. We review evidence from human studies in chronic substance abusers using three methodologies: (i) studies on 'pure' users of one particular substance, (ii) studies that methodologically control the effects of drugs co-abused, and (iii) studies contrasting subgroups of polysubstance users with different drugs of choice. Converging evidence from these approaches indicates that all the drugs studied are commonly associated with significant alterations in the neuropsychological domains of episodic memory, emotional processing, and the executive components of updating and decision-making. However, there is evidence of a greater reliability in the association of certain substances with specific neuropsychological domains. Specifically, there are relatively more robust effects of psychostimulants and alcohol use on impulsive action and cognitive flexibility, of alcohol and MDMA use on spatial processing, perceptual speed and selective attention, cannabis and methamphetamine on prospective memory deficits, and cannabis and MDMA on processing speed and complex planning. The magnitude of both generalized and specific neuropsychological effects is overall attenuated in samples achieving long-term abstinence, but there are persistent psychostimulant-related effects on updating, inhibition, flexibility and emotional processing, and opioid-related effects on updating and decision-making.

Neuropsychological studies support the association between severity of drug intake and alterations in specific cognitive domains and neural systems, but there is disproportionately less research on the neuropsychology of emotional alterations associated with addiction. One of the key aspects of adaptive emotional functioning potentially relevant to addiction progression and treatment is the ability to recognize basic emotions in the faces of others. Therefore, the aims of this study were: (i) to examine facial emotion recognition in abstinent polysubstance abusers, and (ii) to explore the association between patterns of quantity and duration of use of several drugs co-abused (including alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, heroin and MDMA) and the ability to identify discrete facial emotional expressions portraying basic emotions. We compared accuracy of emotion recognition of facial expressions portraying six basic emotions (measured with the Ekman Faces Test) between polysubstance abusers (PSA, n = 65) and non-drug using comparison individuals (NDCI, n = 30), and used regression models to explore the association between quantity and duration of use of the different drugs co-abused and indices of recognition of each of the six emotions, while controlling for relevant socio-demographic and affect-related confounders. Results showed: (i) that PSA had significantly poorer recognition than NDCI for facial expressions of anger, disgust, fear and sadness; (ii) that measures of quantity and duration of drugs used significantly predicted poorer discrete emotions recognition: quantity of cocaine use predicted poorer anger recognition, and duration of cocaine use predicted both poorer anger and fear recognition. Severity of cocaine use also significantly predicted overall recognition accuracy.

Resumen Objetivos Estimacion de la prevalencia del trastorno por deficit de atencion e hiperactividad (TDAH) del adulto en una muestra de dependientes de cocaina y evaluacion de la utilidad de los sintomas de funcionamiento ejecutivo de Barkley para diferenciar entre pacientes dependientes de cocaina con y sin TDAH. Metodos Diseno observacional transversal. Se evaluo un total de 70 sujetos dependientes de cocaina que ingresaron para tratamiento en una comunidad terapeutica. Los sujetos seleccionados fueron citados para una entrevista cara a cara entre los dias 15.° y 20.° del ingreso. Se utilizo una tecnica de muestreo consecutivo no aleatorio. Se recluto a los sujetos segun acudian a la comunidad terapeutica y cumplian los criterios de seleccion. El instrumento de medida empleado para diagnosticar TDAH en la edad adulta fue la Conners’ Adult ADHD Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV (CAADID). Los trastornos psiquiatricos comorbidos fueron evaluados segun criterios DSM-IV-TR mediante la version espanola de la entrevista Psychiatric Research Interview for Substance and Mental Disorders (PRISM-IV). Para la evaluacion del “funcionamiento ejecutivo” empleamos el Current Behavior Scale Self-Report de Russell A. Barkley. Resultados La prevalencia de TDAH observada en nuestra muestra fue del 14,3 % (intervalo de confianza [IC] 95 %: 6,1–22,5). Las puntuaciones medias en todos los items de la escala de Barkley son superiores en el grupo de pacientes diagnosticados de TDAH y dependencia a la cocaina, en comparacion con los sujetos que solo presentan dependencia a la esta sustancia, con diferencias estadisticamente significativas. Conclusiones La prevalencia observada de TDAH en nuestra muestra fue elevada y se situa dentro del rango de las encontradas por otros autores en muestras similares. Los datos del estudio apoyan la teoria de Barkley en esta poblacion.

BACKGROUND: Some studies have suggested that certain organochlorine (OC) compounds may impair neurodevelopment in animals and humans. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between prenatal exposure to an OC pesticide, mirex, and cognitive development in children at age of 4 years. METHODS: A population-based birth cohort in Granada (Spain) recruited between 2000 and 2002 was studied between 2005 and 2006, when the children were 4 years old. Complete data for analyses, including mirex determination in placentas, were gathered on a random sample of 104 children. A standardized version of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) was used to assess children's motor and cognitive abilities. Multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the relation between MSCA scores and prenatal exposure to mirex, adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS: The presence of mirex in placenta was inversely associated with cognitive development at 4 years of age: children with prenatal exposure to mirex (>or=limit of quantification: 26%; median: 1.4 ng/g placenta) showed a decrease of 5.15 points in working memory and of 7.33 points in the quantitative area with respect to children of the same age not prenatally exposed to mirex. CONCLUSION: The deficit found in intellectual function during early childhood suggests that prenatal exposure to mirex may have a significant impact on school performance.

Rationale Chronic abuse of psychoactive substances produces significant deficits in executive control functions (ECF). These deficits are prominent in different domains associated with cognitive impulsivity, including response inhibition and decision-making. The extent and nature of these deficits may depend on the principal substance of abuse. Objectives To analyse response inhibition and decision-making performance in abstinent polysubstance abusers (PSA) of cocaine and heroin, and healthy participants. Methods We used univariate and multivariate analyses of variance to compare the performances of cocaine and heroin PSA and healthy controls on several well-validated measures of response inhibition (Stroop, 5-Digit Test and Go/No Go Task) and decision-making (Iowa Gambling Task). Post-hoc exploratory analyses of the results from the Go/No Go task were conducted to examine specific effects of task switching on the pattern of omission/commission errors in the PSA groups. Results Cocaine but not heroin PSA showed significant deficits on several measures of response inhibition, when compared to controls. Reversal of task contingencies in the Go/No Go task primarily altered the commission error rate in cocaine PSA, and the omission error rate in heroin PSA. In contrast, both cocaine and heroin PSA showed poorer performance on decision-making compared to controls. Conclusions Assuming the relevance of polysubstance involvement, cocaine abuse seems to differentially correlate with motor impulsivity skills, while both substances seem to be equally linked to the inability to decide advantageously in complex decision-making tasks. Possible discrepancies in the neurological and psychological effects of these drugs are discussed.

The present study assesses how certain stress and coping variables relate to drug use. A total of 124 subjects (85 men, 39 women) took part. They were divided into two groups: consumers and low or nonconsumers. Results indicate that consumers show significantly lower scores in self-control than low or nonconsumers. This research is of interest because it analyzes the relationship among assertiveness, self-control, self-efficacy, and drug use. We consider it worthwhile to take these variables into account when planning prevention programs.