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Background: Higher levels of circulating oestrogens in women and testosterone in men have been shown to have a protective effect against the clinical manifestations of schizophrenia, mostly with respect to negative symptomatology. Certain studies suggest that they also have a protective effect against the neuropsychological impairment observed in the disease. We investigated whether greater prenatal exposure to estrogens in women and to testosterone in men, reflected by the 2D:4D ratio, was similarly associated with decreased negative symptomatology and improved neuropsychological functioning in patients., Method: 51 schizophrenia patients and 50 healthy participants were administered a neuropsychological battery. The 2D:4D ratio was measured in all participants. Positive, negative, and affective symptoms were assessed in patients. Regression analyses were conducted separately in male and female subgroups., Results: No associations with positive symptoms were revealed. In male patients, the 2D:4D ratio was positively associated with avolition and inversely associated with anxiety. In female patients, it was inversely associated with alogia, and tended to be positively associated with depression. No association between higher prenatal concentration of the relevant sex hormone and improved neuropsychological performance emerged in patients., Conclusions: Higher concentrations of prenatal testosterone in male patients, and prenatal oestrogens in female patients, are associated with a decrement in certain aspects of negative symptomatology. In addition, prenatal sex hormone concentration seems to be associated with predisposition to anxiety in male patients, and to depression in female patients., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) more...

Background: Abnormalities in visual processes have been observed in schizophrenia patients and have been associated with alteration of the lateral occipital complex and visual cortex. However, the relationship of these abnormalities with clinical symptomatology is largely unknown., Methods: We investigated the brain activity associated with object perception in schizophrenia. Pictures of common objects were presented to 26 healthy participants (age=36.9; 11 females) and 20 schizophrenia patients (age=39.9; 8 females) in an fMRI study., Results: In the healthy sample the presentation of pictures yielded significant activation (pFWE (cluster)<0.001) of the bilateral fusiform gyrus, bilateral lingual gyrus, and bilateral middle occipital gyrus. In patients, the bilateral fusiform gyrus and bilateral lingual gyrus were significantly activated (pFWE (cluster)<0.001), but not so the middle occipital gyrus. However, significant bilateral activation of the middle occipital gyrus (pFWE (cluster)<0.05) was revealed when illness duration was controlled for. Depression was significantly associated with increased activation, and anxiety with decreased activation, of the right middle occipital gyrus and several other brain areas in the patient group. No association with positive or negative symptoms was revealed., Conclusions: Illness duration accounts for the weak activation of the middle occipital gyrus in patients during picture presentation. Affective symptoms, but not positive or negative symptoms, influence the activation of the right middle occipital gyrus and other brain areas., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) more...

Objective: A number of cognitive underpinnings of auditory hallucinations have been established in schizophrenia patients, but few have, as yet, been uncovered for visual hallucinations. In previous research, we unexpectedly observed that auditory hallucinations were associated with poor recognition of color, but not black-and-white (b/w), pictures. In this study, we attempted to replicate and explain this finding. Potential associations with visual hallucinations were explored., Method: B/w and color pictures were presented to 50 schizophrenia patients and 45 healthy individuals under 2 conditions of visual context presentation corresponding to 2 levels of visual encoding complexity. Then, participants had to recognize the target pictures among distractors., Results: Auditory-verbal hallucinations were inversely associated with the recognition of the color pictures presented under the most effortful encoding condition. This association was fully mediated by working-memory span. Visual hallucinations were associated with improved recognition of the color pictures presented under the less effortful condition. Patients suffering from visual hallucinations were not impaired, relative to the healthy participants, in the recognition of these pictures., Conclusion: Decreased working-memory span in patients with auditory-verbal hallucinations might impede the effortful encoding of stimuli. Visual hallucinations might be associated with facilitation in the visual encoding of natural scenes, or with enhanced color perception abilities., ((c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).) more...

Background: Mental disorders in the elderly are common, with a 12-month prevalence in the community ranging from 8.54% to 26.4%. Unfortunately, many mental disorders are unrecognized, untreated, and associated with poor health outcomes. The aim of this paper is to describe the prevalence of mental disorders in the elderly primary care (PC) population and its associated factors by age groups., Methods: Cross-sectional survey, conducted in 77 PC centers in Catalonia (Spain), 1,192 patients over 65 years old. The prevalence of mental disorders was assessed through face-to-face evaluations using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders, Research Version (SCID-I-RV) and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI); chronic physical conditions were noted using a checklist; and disability through the Sheehan Disability Scales (SDS)., Results: Nearly 20% of participants had a mental disorder in the previous 12 months. Anxiety disorders were the most frequent, (10.9%) (95% CI = 8.2-14.4), followed by mood disorders (7.4%) (95% CI = 5.7-9.5). Being female, greater perceived stress and having mental health/emotional problems as the main reason for consultation were associated with the presence of any mental disorder. There were no differences in prevalence across age groups. Somatic comorbidity was not associated with the presence of mental disorders., Conclusions: Mental disorders are highly prevalent among the elderly in PC in Spain. Efforts are needed to develop strategies to reduce this prevalence and improve the well-being of the elderly. Based on our results, we thought it might be useful to assess perceived stress regularly in PC, focusing on people who consult for emotional distress, or that have greater perceived stress. more...

'Jumping to conclusions' (JTC) is a reasoning bias consisting of a tendency to take a decision without having enough information about an event. It has been related to the presence of delusions. The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between three tasks differing in complexity and concept which assess JTC and cognitive functioning in a sample of people with schizophrenia and healthy participants. We also assessed which cognitive variables, after controlling for psychotic symptoms, explained the presence of JTC in each sample. A total of 43 patients with schizophrenia and 57 healthy participants were assessed with a cognition battery including executive function, verbal memory, and IQ. JTC was assessed with three tasks (probability of 85:15; 60:40, and 60:40 with emotional component). Patients were also assessed on psychotic and affective symptoms and the healthy participants on proneness to hallucinations and delusion. The present study demonstrates a clear relationship between JTC and cognitive functioning, especially in working memory, verbal memory, and cognitive processing speed in people with schizophrenia and in healthy participants. However no relationship was found in the emotional task of JTC. Hallucinations (in people with schizophrenia) and proneness to hallucinations (in the healthy participants) are related to JTC. Our results suggest that diverse psychological interventions such as cognitive remediation, cognitive behavioral therapy and meta-cognitive training might contribute to reducing JTC bias., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) more...

Introduction: Neuroimaging of psychiatric disorders, especially on schizophrenia, has been increased in the last decade. Different brain imaging techniques have become a useful tool to discover the pathophysiology of schizophrenia., Aims: To describe scientific and historical background of neuroimaging in psychiatry, and to describe the current structural, functional and neurochemical findings in schizophrenia using brain imaging techniques, and their potential disadvantages., Development: This review synthesizes our current knowledge on the neurobiology of psychosis, reviewing studies including structural (magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion tensor imaging), functional (PET and SPECT, functional magnetic resonance imaging) and neurochemical/transmission (neurochemical PET and SPECT, magnetic resonance spectroscopy) neuroimaging techniques on schizophrenia., Conclusions: Cognitive impairment, structural and functional disturbances, dopaminergic hypothesis, white matter changes, and any other findings, have been reported. Nevertheless, there are still many doubts and discrepancies to solve, regarding to neuroimaging in schizophrenia. Coupling multimodal imaging with genetics and pharmacotherapeutic studies will further assist in understanding the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. more...