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Background and Objectives: Chronically stressed individuals report deficits spanning cognitive and emotional functioning. However, limitations to clinical populations and measures of stress have impeded the generalisability and scope of results. This study investigated whether chronic stress predicted cognitive and emotional functioning, and whether these relationships differed between males and females, in a large representative sample of healthy participants. Design: Cross-sectional study. Method: 1883 healthy adults sampled from the Brain Resource International Database reported stress using the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. Participants then completed a cognitive and emotional assessment battery (IntegNeuro), as well as questionnaires related to sleep, emotional functioning, and self-regulation. Results: In contrast to previously reported results, chronic stress did not predict cognitive functioning. However, higher stress predicted a greater negativity bias and poorer social skills, confirming previous research identifying these links. Conclusions: Cognitive deficits related to stress are absent in healthy participants when stress is measured using the 21-items Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. Identifying how chronic stress is associated with aspects of emotional functioning can lead to personalized interventions for individuals to better manage the negative outcomes resulting from stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of psychiatric and neurological disorders are characterized by impairments in facial emotion recognition. Recognition of individual emotions has implicated limbic, basal ganglionic, and frontal brain regions. Since these regions are also implicated in age-related decline and sex differences in emotion processing, an understanding of normative variation is important for assessing deficits in clinical groups. An internet-based test (“WebNeuro”) was administered to 1,000 healthy participants (6 to 91 years, 53% female) to assess explicit identification of basic expressions of emotion (happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, neutral). A subsequent implicit recognition condition was based on a priming protocol, in which explicit identification provided the “study” phase. Responses were most accurate for happiness and slowest for fear in the explicit condition, but least accurate for happiness and fastest for fear in the implicit condition. The effects of age, by contrast, showed a similar pattern for both explicit and implicit conditions, following a nonlinear distribution in which performance improved from childhood through adolescence and early adulthood and declined in later adulthood. Females were better than males at explicit identification of fear in particular. These findings are consistent with the priority of threat-related signals, but indicate opposing biases depending on whether emotion processing is conscious or nonconscious. The lifespan trends in emotion processing over 10 decades point to an interaction of brain-based (maturation, stability, and then atrophy of cortical and subcortical systems) and experiential contributing factors. These findings provide a robust normative platform for assessing clinical groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both general and social cognition are important in providing endophenotypic markers and predicting real-world functional outcomes of clinical psychiatric disorders. However, to date, focus has been on general cognition, rather than on core domains of social/emotional cognition. This study sought to determine core domains of emotion processing for both explicit identification and implicit recognition and their relationships with core domains of general cognition. Age effects and sex differences were also investigated. A sample of 1,000 healthy individuals (6 to 91 years, 53.5% female) undertook the WebNeuro tests of emotion identification and recognition and tests of general cognitive function. Factor analysis revealed seven core domains of emotion processing: speed of explicit emotion identification, speed of implicit emotion recognition, implicit emotion recognition accuracy, “threat” processing, sadness-disgust identification, “positive emotion” processing, and general “face perception.” Seven corresponding core domains of general cognition were identified: information-processing speed, executive function, sustained attention/vigilance, verbal memory, working-memory capacity, inhibition/impulsivity, and sensorimotor function. Factors of emotion processing generally showed positive associations with those of general cognitive function, suggesting commonality in processing speed in particular. Moreover, age had a consistent nonlinear impact on both emotion processing and general cognitive factors, while sex differences were more specific. These findings contribute to a normative and standardized structure for assessment of emotional and general cognition in clinical groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing evidence that elevated body mass index (BMI) is associated with adverse neurocognitive outcome, though no study has examined whether morphometric differences are found in persons across the adult life span. We compared 201 healthy individuals in normal weight, overweight, and obese groups (aged 17-79). After correcting for demographic differences, obese individuals showed smaller whole brain and total gray matter volume than normal weight and overweight individuals. These findings support an independent relationship between BMI and brain structure and demonstrate that these differences are not limited to older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study employs standardized data acquired from the Brain Resource International Database to study the relationship between mobile phone usage, personality, and brain function (n = 300). Based on the frequency and duration of mobile phone usage, three groups were formed. The findings suggest a subtle slowing of brain activity related to mobile phone use that is not explained by differences in personality. These changes are still within normal physiological ranges. Better executive function in mobile phone users may reflect more focused attention, possibly associated with a cognitive training effect (i.e., frequently making phone calls in distracting places), rather than a direct effect of mobile phone use on cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The harsh reality is that many medical treatments do not work as expected in a significant percentage of patients, and occasionally there are serious side effects. A new paradigm of personalized medicine is emerging, which proactively tailors treatment to each individual's biological and psychological profile. The first proof-of-concept phase of personalized medicine has now been achieved. However, it has thus far focused on the use of genomic markers and on disorders of the body. The complexity of the brain is likely to require a shift from a single genetic marker focus to a more integrated approach in which additional brain-related information (neuromarkers) is taken into account. Codevelopment of genomic neuromarkers with new compounds in a personalized medicine approach will lead to increased drug R&D and treatment benefits. The emerging genomic neuromarker potential has begun to be incorporated into the template for the next version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-V). The statistical power of large subject numbers in databases in general (and standardized databases in particular) provides an ideal source for elucidating the best genomic-neuromarker profiles (explaining most of the main-effects variance), which will empower a brain-related personalized medicine into mainstream clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies haverevealed significant differences in performance on nonlanguage dependent cognitive tests across international settings among younger individuals, with less pronounced differences evident among older individuals (>54 years of age). The present study examined a broad range of cognitive performance as well as electrophysiological indices of brain function in a multisite and international context. A total of 200 individuals in the United States, 233 individuals in Europe, and 829 individuals in Australia were administered a standardized computerized neuropsychological battery, and complementary electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings were completed. Results revealed no significant differences in cognitive function or electrophysiology across the three continents. Similarly, although there was a main effect for age, the interaction between age and continent was not significant in any of the omnibus analyses. These findings indicate a high degree of similarity in neurocognitive and electrophysiological function among individuals residing in developed Western cultures, consistent with a traitlike status and the high heritability of the EEG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quantified analysis of the electroencephalogram (qEEG) has enabled the extraction of additional psychophysiological information from the raw EEG, but in turn has introduced a number of distortions. This study compared Dynamic Spectral Analysis (DSA), a novel and mathematically stringent technique for the evaluation of qEEG activity with conventional power spectral analysis in subjects with both first episode and chronic schizophrenia and matched controls. Advantages of the technique in the automated processing of data, rejection of artefact, avoidance of artefact introduced by the mathematical trans-formation of the data and the identification of irregular low frequency artefactual activity “pi” are discussed in detail. Using this method, the study has confirmed past observations of increased slow wave activity in schizophrenia, and identified a decrease in peak frequency in the alpha band in the subjects with chronic schizophrenia. The two clinical groups differed in mean peak frequency in the delta band with the first episode schizophrenia subjects having a raised mean peak frequency and the subjects with chronic schizophrenia having a lowered mean peak frequency. The results suggest continued change in the EEG with illness chronicity in schizophrenia. These changes were most evident in the frequency domain emphasizing the importance of routine measurement of mean band frequencies in qEEG studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the preliminary validity of a newly developed battery of computerized cognitive measures, IntegNeuroTM. This standardized and semi-automated computerized battery assesses sensori-motor function, attention, new learning and memory, language fluency, executive function, and estimated intelligence. A total of 50 healthy individuals (aged 22–80 years) were included in the study. Correlational analyses revealed highly significant associations between the two cognitive batteries. These results support the use of IntegNeuroTM as a computerized cognitive system. Additional studies are needed to examine the clinical utility of the battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The failure of integrative brain function is a fundamental characteristic of schizophrenia. Synchronous Gamma (40 Hz) activity, proposed as a candidate mechanism underlying the integration ('binding') of distributed brain activities, may provide a direct window into schizophrenic disintegration. 40 schizophrenia and 40 age/gender-matched control subjects participated Gamma (Gamma 2) phase synchrony to target stimuli. Factor analysis scores were used to examine the associations between Gamma synchrony and three syndromes (Psychomotor Poverty, Reality Distortion, and Disorganisation). Multiple analyses of variance revealed an overall decrease in frontal and left hemisphere Gamma synchrony, but increased posterior Gamma 2 synchrony in schizophrenia compared to controls. Schizophrenia syndromes were differentiated by distinct patterns of Gamma disturbances: Psychomotor Poverty showed decreased left hemisphere synchrony; Reality Distortion was associated with increased right synchrony; Disorganisation showed a widespread enhancement with a delay in frontal Gamma synchrony. These findings are consistent with previous evidence for left hemisphere and frontal disturbances in the schizophrenia group. However, the syndrome results point to more distinctive patterns of dysregulation in network integration; widespread and excessive in Disorganisation, localised and enhanced in Reality Distortion, versus localised and diminished in Psychomotor Poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the association of gamma activity on female patients with schizophrenia. Occurrence of peak gamma activity; Investigation of brain structures in female patients; Characteristics of narrow band gamma activity.

Examines the association of network disturbances with functional disturbances of interpersonal communication in schizophrenia. Investigation of the facial processing deficits in patients with schizophrenia; Use of event-related potential paradigm in the investigation; Role of emotions in schizophrenia.

Background. Gamma electrical rhythms (at 40 cycles per second) are postulated to have an important role in relation to the "binding problem" (of how the brain integrates its diverse neuronal activity). Impaired integration of brain activity may be a core pathophysiological feature of schizophrenia. The focus of this study was the examination of within-sample relationships between three primary schizophrenic syndromes (Psychomotor Poverty, Disorganisation, and Reality Distortion) and induced Gamma activity in an auditory target detection paradigm. Method. A time series was constructed of all Gamma activity (extracted from the same data traditionally acquired for Event Related Potentials; ERPs). Data was examined in response to 40 target and 40 nontarget auditory stimuli, in 35 patients with schizophrenia and 35 age- and gender-matched normal controls. Results. Although schizophrenics as a group showed generally reduced Gamma activity, each syndrome was differentiated by a distinct pattern of Gamma disturbance across target and nontarget stimuli. Reality Distortion was correlated with increased Gamma and Psychomotor Poverty with decreased Gamma activity to target stimuli, whereas Disorganisation was correlated with reduced Gamma activity to nontarget stimuli. Conclusions. Gamma activity might elucidate disturbances in integrated brain function, and provide complementary insights to the established slower frequency ERP dysfunctions in schizophrenia. This is the first report of distinctive patterns of Gamma activity in the three schizophrenic syndromes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have revealed various abnormalities in late-component ERP amplitude and latency in schizophrenia, considered as a diagnostic category. The aim of this study was to investigate the within-sample associations between late-component ERPs and three primary syndromes of schizophrenia — Reality Distortion, Psychomotor Poverty and Disorganisation. Subjects included 40 schizophrenics and 40 age and sex matched nonpsychiatric controls. Auditory ERPs (N100, N200, P200, P300) were elicited using an auditory oddball paradigm. Between-group analyses of target data showed reduced N100, N200 and P300 amplitude, increased P200 amplitude and delayed N200 latency in schizophrenics compared to controls. For non-target data, schizophrenics showed similarly reduced N100 amplitude and delayed N200 latency. Within-group analyses of target data showed that the three syndromes (determined by principal component analysis of PANSS ratings) were differentiated by ERP latency, but not amplitude (Disorganisation — delayed left hemisphere P200 and P300 latency; Reality Distortion -earlier global, midline and left hemisphere N200 latency; Psychomotor Poverty -delayed posterior N100 latency). Notably, only Disorganisation showed a divergent pattern of associations with non-target ERP data: reduced P200 amplitude and delayed N100 latency. This study highlights the potential utility of exploring symptom profiles in elucidating specific patterns of brain dysfunction in schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. This study explored the possible impairment in inhibiting irrelevant stimuli (as reflected in the backward masking version of the forced-choice span of apprehension task) in subgroups of individuals with schizophrenia. Method. Subjects included 48 schizophrenics and 54 nonpsychiatric controls. Letter arrays were presented at three stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs; 60, 100, 250msec) and three levels of complexity (3, 7, 11 distractor letters). Results. As a group, schizophrenics (n = 54) were impaired relative to nonpsychiatric controls (n = 48) for 7-distractor displays at 60msec and 250msec SOA. Cluster analysis of SAPS and SANS ratings produced four symptom subgroups. Opposing masking performances were found for Psychomotor Poverty (impaired for long SOAs) and Reality Distortion (enhanced at short SOAs) subgroups, whereas the Disorganisation subgroup was globally impaired, and the Episodic subgroup performed similarly overall to controls. Conclusion. The results highlight the potential importance of symptomatology in further elucidating the span of apprehension impairment in schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A tone discrimination task was used to elicit the P300 component of event related potentials in 55 normal subjects aged between 15 and 89 years. The age/latency relationship in the total sample was significant, but contrary to the reports of some others was statistically better described at CZ by a linear and not a curvilinear age regression function. Adults over 45 had steeper age regression slopes and larger age/latency correlations frontally and centrally than younger adults, but there was no difference in amplitude between these groups. The effect of age on latency seemed slightly more pronounced frontally in older adults, and there was significantly more latency variability in this group. Overall, the age/latency relationship in adults was statistically best described by separate linear age regression functions for adults ≤45 and >45. It is suggested that latency variability may account for some of the discrepancy in the age/P300 literature, and the clinical implications of this are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An abstract of the article "Integrating Neuromarkers for the Era of Brain-Related Personalized Medicine," by Evian Gordon is presented.