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Background Mood instability and risk-taking are hallmarks of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Schema modes are combinations of self-reflective evaluations, negative emotional states, and destructive coping strategies common in BPD. When activated, they can push patients with BPD into emotional turmoil and a dissociative state of mind. Our knowledge of the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms driving these changes is incomplete. We hypothesized that in patients with BPD, affective instability is more influenced by reward expectation, outcomes, and reward prediction errors (RPEs) during risky decision-making than in healthy controls. Additionally, we expected that these alterations would be related to schema modes. Methods Thirty-two patients with BPD and thirty-one healthy controls were recruited. We used an established behavioral paradigm to measure mood fluctuations during risky decision-making. The impact of expectations and RPEs on momentary mood was quantified by a computational model, and its parameters were estimated with hierarchical Bayesian analysis. Model parameters were compared using High-Density Intervals. Results We found that model parameters capturing the influence of RPE and Certain Rewards on mood were significantly higher in patients with BPD than in controls. These model parameters correlated significantly with schema modes, but not with depression severity. Conclusions BPD is coupled with altered associations between mood fluctuation and reward processing under uncertainty. Our findings seem to be BPD-specific, as they stand in contrast with the correlates of depressive symptoms. Future studies should establish the clinical utility of these alterations, such as predicting or assessing therapeutic response in BPD.

Background Treatment effects of conventional approaches with antipsychotics or psychosocial interventions are limited when it comes to reducing negative and cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia. While there is emerging clinical evidence that new, augmented protocols based on theta-burst stimulation can increase rTMS efficacy dramatically in depression, data on similar augmented therapies are limited in schizophrenia. The different patterns of network impairments in subjects may underlie that some but not all patients responded to given stimulation locations. Methods Therefore, we propose an augmented theta-burst stimulation protocol in schizophrenia by stimulating both locations connected to negative symptoms: (1) the left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC), and (2) the vermis of the cerebellum. Ninety subjects with schizophrenia presenting negative symptoms and aging between 18–55 years will be randomized to active and sham stimulation in a 1:1 ratio. The TBS parameters we adopted follow the standard TBS protocols, with 3-pulse 50-Hz bursts given every 200 ms (at 5 Hz) and an intensity of 100% active motor threshold. We plan to deliver 1800 stimuli to the left DLPFC and 1800 stimuli to the vermis daily in two 9.5-minute blocks for four weeks. The primary endpoint is the change in negative symptom severity measured by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Secondary efficacy endpoints are changes in cognitive flexibility, executive functioning, short-term memory, social cognition, and facial emotion recognition. The safety outcome is the number of serious adverse events. Discussion This is a double-blind, sham-controlled, randomized medical device study to assess the efficacy and safety of an augmented theta-burst rTMS treatment in schizophrenia. We hypothesize that social cognition and negative symptoms of patients on active therapy will improve significantly compared to patients on sham treatment. Trial registration The study protocol is registered at 'clinicaltrials.gov 'with the following ID: NCT05100888. All items from the World Health Organization Trial Registration Data Set are registered. Initial release: 10/19/2021.

Impairment in predictive processes gained a lot of attention in recent years as an explanation for autistic symptoms. However, empirical evidence does not always underpin this framework. Thus, it is unclear what aspects of predictive processing are affected in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In this study, we tested autistic adults on a task in which participants acquire probability-based regularities by mere exposure (that is, a statistical learning task). Twenty neurotypical (NTP) and 22 autistic adults learned a probabilistic, temporally distributed regularity for about 40 minutes. We found that autistic adults performed comparably to NTP adults, and the dynamics of learning did not differ either, supported by Bayesian analyses. Thus, our study provides evidence for intact statistical learning in autistic adults. Furthermore, we discuss potential ways this result can extend the scope of the predictive processing framework, noting that atypical processing might not always mean a deficit in performance.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia (SCZ) are diagnostically demarcated disorders, yet overlapping pathological functioning is reported at several levels of organisation starting from brain circuitry to behaviour, complicating diagnostic differentiation. In particular, what the two disorders seem to share is anomalous minimal self experience, which is a trait-like, phenomenological distortion. We propose a framework that unites multiple levels from neural substrates to neurocognitive and phenomenological correlates for the conceptualisation of minimal self disturbance across diagnostic boundaries. As it is increasingly important to uncover biomarkers of psychopathological functioning, we also propose a new paradigm for identifying the neural correlates of minimal selfhood. We argue that they can be more reliably subtracted during meditation rather than during a simple resting state as meditation increases the present-focused inward attention, while simultaneously decreasing reflective mind-wandering that spontaneously happens during rest. Our endeavours are in line with the broader movement in psychiatry to identify biomarkers of pathological functioning and shift from operationalized nosology towards approaches that are not agnostic about self-experience in ASD and SCZ.

The interpersonal distance theory introduces a new perspective in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research. In the manuscript we highlight neurobiological correlates of interpersonal distance (IPD) regulation characteristically different in ASD; in addition, we touched upon the potential impact of environmental factors on IPD. We suggest that different IPD regulation may have implications for cognitive performance in experimental and diagnostic settings, may influence the effectiveness of training and therapy, and may play a role in the typical forms of social communication and leisure activities chosen by individuals with autism spectrum disorder. We argue that reconsidering the results of ASD research through the lens of interpersonal distance would lead to a different interpretation of previous findings. At the end of the paper, we propose a methodological approach to study this phenomenon systematically.

A branch of computational psychiatry aims to handle the problems which arose due to the heterogeneity and comorbidity of mental illnesses by capturing phenotypic differences behind symptoms. In order to more accurately describe the mechanisms of the mind and its disturbances, it uses the tools and methods of computational cognitive science. In this paper, we introduce the reader to the (mathematical) language in which (Bayesian) predictive coding was written, which holds one of the possible explanations of the perceptual differences found on the autism or the psychosis spectrum. By representing prior knowledge and sampled sensory information as (prior and likelihood, respectively) distributions, the Bayes-rule allows us to calculate the inferred posterior distribution. The aforementioned terms are introduced through simple examples, such as coin tosses (inferring how biased it is) or making a diagnosis, however, this framework might also help us understand the more complex mechanisms of the mind. Studies show that visual perception can be examined following Bayesian formalization. The likelihood information can be manipulated with bistable or noisy stimuli, whereas through instructions and/or cues, prior expectations are formed. With the use of perceptual and response models fitted to cognitive task performance, it becomes possible to identify parameters which shed light on the features of information processing that characterize the perceptual alterations in certain clinical populations. At the end of the paper we draw attention to the limitations of computational modelling.

Verbal fluency is a cognitive function reflecting executive functions and the ability to retrieve the appropriate information from memory quickly. Previous studies reported conflicting results-impaired and intact verbal fluency-in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Most studies concentrate on overall word productivity, errors, perseverations, clustering, or switching. We used a comprehensive approach to evaluate the reported discrepancy in the literature and introduced a new angle using the concept of word abstraction and imageability. Moreover, we analyzed the performance in two-time intervals (0-30 s and 31-60 s) to assess the temporal dynamics of verbal fluency and a possible activation or initiation deficit in autism. Sixteen adults with ASD and 16 neurotypical control participants, matched by gender, age, and education level, participated in our study. Contrary to our expectations, we did not find a significant difference between groups in word productivity, the number of errors, clustering, or temporal dynamics, neither in semantic nor in phonemic fluency tasks. Surprisingly, the two study groups' performance did not differ in terms of imageability or concreteness characteristics either. Our results raise the possibility that verbal fluency performance is intact in autism. We also suggest using a comprehensive approach when measuring fluency in autism. LAY SUMMARY: People with autism tend to think and communicate differently. In our study, we tested whether people with autism come up with more concrete or imageable words and whether their performance is better compared with neurotypicals in the beginning or in the later phase of a task measuring how many words they can produce in a minute. We did not detect any difference between the two groups; however, we recommend studying verbal fluency in autism from more and different angles in the future.

Schizotypal personality traits are related to exposure to childhood trauma and to neurodevelopmental anomalies. Mentalization, attachment, openness, intellect, and social support are factors that may mediate or buffer the effect of such risk factors. However, to date, no study has investigated the associations between these constructs and schizotypy in a single model. We collected data in a large and demographically heterogeneous general population sample (N = 3441, 68% female, mean age = 39 years). We assessed schizotypal traits, environmental factors such as early traumas and perceived social support during adolescence, and putative mediators and protective factors such as openness/intellect, mentalization, and attachment. We estimated a Gaussian Graphical Model to examine the complex multivariate associations between the above constructs. Bootstrapping showed that the model was reliable. The importance of nodes was inferred using node centralities. Mentalization, disorganized schizotypy, and PTSD-like symptoms were the most central nodes in terms of strength and closeness. Disorganized schizotypy was related to early developmental anomalies, positive and negative schizotypy, and reduced intellect, mentalization was primarily related to reduced attachment avoidance and anxiety, while PTSD-like symptoms were linked to traumas and attachment anxiety. The results are in line with theories that emphasize the importance of mentalization and disorganized schizotypy in outcomes related to the extended psychosis-spectrum phenotypes. The findings may facilitate the generation of hypotheses for prospective and intervention studies.

It is a widely held assumption that the brain performs perceptual inference by combining sensory information with prior expectations, weighted by their uncertainty. A distinction can be made between higher- and lower-level priors, which can be manipulated with associative learning and sensory priming, respectively. Here, we simultaneously investigate priming and the differential effect of auditory vs. visual associative cues on visual perception, and we also examine the reliability of individual differences. Healthy individuals (N = 29) performed a perceptual inference task twice with a one-week delay. They reported the perceived direction of motion of dot pairs, which were preceded by a probabilistic visuo-acoustic cue. In 30% of the trials, motion direction was ambiguous, and in half of these trials, the auditory versus the visual cue predicted opposing directions. Cue-stimulus contingency could change every 40 trials. On ambiguous trials where the visual and the auditory cue predicted conflicting directions of motion, participants made more decisions consistent with the prediction of the acoustic cue. Increased predictive processing under stimulus uncertainty was indicated by slower responses to ambiguous (vs. non-ambiguous) stimuli. Furthermore, priming effects were also observed in that perception of ambiguous stimuli was influenced by perceptual decisions on the previous ambiguous and unambiguous trials as well. Critically, behavioural effects had substantial inter-individual variability which showed high test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) > 0.78). Overall, higher-level priors based on auditory (vs. visual) information had greater influence on visual perception, and lower-level priors were also in action. Importantly, we observed large and stable differences in various aspects of task performance. Computational modelling combined with neuroimaging could allow testing hypotheses regarding the potential mechanisms causing these behavioral effects. The reliability of the behavioural differences implicates that such perceptual inference tasks could be valuable tools during large-scale biomarker and neuroimaging studies.

Introduction Alterations in narrow‐band spectral power of electroencephalography (EEG) recordings are commonly reported in patients with schizophrenia (SZ). It is well established however that electrophysiological signals comprise a broadband scale‐free (or fractal) component generated by mechanisms different from those producing oscillatory neural activity. Despite this known feature, it has not yet been investigated if spectral abnormalities found in SZ could be attributed to scale‐free or oscillatory brain function. Methods In this study, we analyzed resting‐state EEG recordings of 14 SZ patients and 14 healthy controls. Scale‐free and oscillatory components of the power spectral density (PSD) were separated, and band‐limited power (BLP) of the original (mixed) PSD, as well as its fractal and oscillatory components, was estimated in five frequency bands. The scaling property of the fractal component was characterized by its spectral exponent in two distinct frequency ranges (1–13 and 13–30 Hz). Results Analysis of the mixed PSD revealed a decrease of BLP in the delta band in SZ over the central regions; however, this difference could be attributed almost exclusively to a shift of power toward higher frequencies in the fractal component. Broadband neural activity expressed a true bimodal nature in all except frontal regions. Furthermore, both low‐ and high‐range spectral exponents exhibited a characteristic topology over the cortex in both groups. Conclusion Our results imply strong functional significance of scale‐free neural activity in SZ and suggest that abnormalities in PSD may emerge from alterations of the fractal and not only the oscillatory components of neural activity., In this study, we separated the scale‐free (fractal) and oscillatory components of the power spectral density (PSD) of electroencephalography recordings acquired from healthy controls (HC) and patients with schizophrenia (SZ). We found increased delta band‐limited power in SZ when compared to HC in the raw PSD; however, this difference was only present in its fractal but not its oscillatory component. Our results imply strong functional significance of scale‐free neural activity in SZ and suggest that abnormalities in PSD may emerge from alterations of the fractal and not only the oscillatory components of neural activity.

Background: It is a widely held assumption that the brain performs perceptual inference by combining sensory information with prior expectations, all being weighted by their uncertainty. Perception of ambiguous stimuli is influenced by higher- and lower-level priors, which can be manipulated with associative learning and sensory priming, respectively. Here, we investigate the differential effect of auditory vs. visual associative cues on perception of illusory visual motion, and we also take lower-level priming effects into account. Furthermore, we examine the test-retest reliability of individual differences and their correlates. Methods: Healthy individuals (N=29; 13 men, mean (SD) age = 27.8 (9.6) years) performed a perceptual inference task (640 trials) twice with a one-week delay. They reported the perceived direction of (illusory) motion of dot pairs, which were preceded by a visuo-acoustic cue that probabilistically predicted the direction of the motion. In 30% of the trials, motion direction was ambiguous, and in half of these trials, the auditory vs. the visual cue predicted opposing directions. Cue-stimulus contingency could change every 40 trials. To explore the relationship with self-reported alterations in perception and thought, schizotypal traits were measured with the short Oxford–Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences questionnaire.Results: Importantly, on ambiguous trials where the visual and the auditory cue predicted conflicting directions of motion, participants made more decisions consistent with the prediction of the acoustic cue. Increased predictive processing under stimulus uncertainty was indicated by slower responses to ambiguous (vs. non-ambiguous) stimuli. Associative learning influenced perceptual decisions: we observed slower responses to less (vs. more) predictable non-ambiguous stimuli and an above-chance rate of cue-congruent decisions on ambiguous trials. Furthermore, priming effects were also observed in that perception of ambiguous stimuli was influenced by perceptual decisions on the previous ambiguous and unambiguous trials as well. Critically, all the above effects had substantial inter-individual variability which showed high test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) > 0.78). Finally, indicators reflecting the dominance of associative learning vs. sensory priming (higher- vs. lower-level priors, respectively) clustered together, these sets of variables were inversely related to each other, and some task-derived indicators showed stable and meaningful associations with schizotypal traits .Discussion: Overall, higher-level priors based on auditory (as compared to visual) information seem to have greater influence on the perception of illusory visual motion, replicating the sensory conditioning effect. The influence of lower-level priors was evident as well, suggesting that sensory priming was also in action. Importantly, we observed large and stable differences in various aspects of task performance. Computational modelling combined with neuroimaging could allow testing hypotheses regarding the potential mechanisms causing these behavioral effects (e.g. characteristics of visual vs. auditory processing, perceptual organisation and attention, and uncertainty). The reliability of the behavioural differences implicates that such perceptual inference tasks could be valuable tools during large-scale biomarker and neuroimaging studies.

Introduction: Community services are gaining ground when it comes to attention to patients with psychiatric diseases. Regarding patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), the use of information and communication technology (ICT) could help to shift the focus from hospital-centered attention to community services. This study compares the differences in mental health services provided for patients with TRS in Budapest (Hungary), Tel-Aviv (Israel) and Catalonia (Spain) by means of a method for the quick appraisal of gaps among the three places, for a potential implementation of the same ICT tool in these regions. Methods: An adapted version of the Description and Standardised Evaluation of Services and Directories in Europe for Long Term Care (DESDE-LTC) instrument was made by researchers in Semmelweis University (Budapest, Hungary), Gertner Institute (Tel-Aviv, Israel) and Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau and Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu (Catalonia, Spain). Results: Two types of outpatient care services were available in the three regions. Only one type of day-care facility was common in the whole study area. Two residential care services, one for acute and the other for non-acute patients were available in every region. Finally, two self-care and volunteer-care facilities were available in the three places. Conclusion: Although the availability of services was different in each region, most of the services provided were sufficiently similar to allow the implementation of the same ICT solution in the three places. The m-RESIST Group The m-RESIST Group is composed of: Francisco Alcalde Enrico d’Amico Caritat Almazán Anna Alonso-Solís Jesús Berdún István Bitter Walter Baccinelli Chiara Bonizzi María Bulgheroni Johanna Caro Mendivelso Asaf Caspi Tanguy Coenen Anat Cohen Xavier Constant Iluminada Corripio Marisol Escobar Kinga Farkas Kata Fazekas Yoram Feldman Emmanuel Gimenez Shenja van der Graaf Eva Grasa Levente Herman Margarita Hospedales Elena Huerta-Ramos Matti Isohanni Erika Jääskeläinen Charlotte Jewel Teija Juola Timo Jämsä Rachelle Kaye Panagiotis Kokkinakis Hannu J. Koponen Silvia Marcó Gregoris Mentzas Jouko Miettunen Jani Moilanen Susana Ochoa Ilias Papas Fotis Paraskevopoulos Elisabeth Reixach Alexandra Roldán Katya Rubinstein Elena Rubio-Abadal Garifalia Sebú Annika Seppälä Jussi Seppälä Valentina Simonetti Matthias Stevens Vittorio Tauro Anna Triantafillou Zsolt Szabolcs Unoka Judith Usall Vincenzo Vella David Vermeir Ilaria de Vita

Psychological Medicine, 51 (12), ISSN:0033-2917, ISSN:1469-8978

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is not only a threat to physical health but is also having severe impacts on mental health. While increases in stress-related symptomatology and other adverse psycho-social outcomes as well as their most important risk factors have been described, hardly anything is known about potential protective factors. Resilience refers to the maintenance of mental health despite adversity. In order to gain mechanistic insights about the relationship between described psycho-social resilience factors and resilience specifically in the current crisis, we assessed resilience factors, exposure to Corona crisis-specific and general stressors, as well as internalizing symptoms in a cross-sectional online survey conducted in 24 languages during the most intense phase of the lockdown in Europe (March 22nd to April 19th) in a convenience sample of N=15,970 adults. Resilience, as an outcome, was conceptualized as good mental health despite stressor exposure and measured as the inverse residual between actual and predicted symptom total score. Preregistered hypotheses (osf.io/r6btn) were tested with multiple regression models and mediation analyses. Results confirmed our primary hypothesis that positive appraisal style (PAS) is positively associated with resilience (p

Purpose: Pituitary adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide (PACAP) is a neuroprotective peptide that has been shown to exert protective effects in different models of neurodegenerative diseases, including retinal degenerations. Data obtained from PACAP-deficient (PACAP KO) mice provide evidence that endogenous PACAP has a neuroprotective role in different pathologies. PACAP KO mice show enhanced sensitivity to different insults, such as oxidative stress, hypoxia and inflammation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effects of endogenous PACAP in retinal inflammation. Methods: Endotoxin-induced eye inflammation was induced by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in PACAP KO and wild-type (Wt) mice. After LPS treatment, retinas were processed for histological examination. To detect the alterations of different proteins and cytokines, immunohistochemical, western blot and cytokine array were used. We also performed dark-adapted electroretinography (ERG) to detect the functional differences. Results: The thickness of nearly all layers was significantly less in LPS-injected PACAP KO mice compared to Wt animals. Increased expression of Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) was induced in Müller glial cells after LPS treatment, which was more intense in PACAP KO mice. The levels of pAkt and pGSK were decreased in PACAP KO group during inflammation. LPS treatment significantly increased cytokines (sICAM-1, JE, TIMP-1) in both treated groups, but it was more expressed in PACAP KO animals. Furthermore, ERG responses were disturbed after LPS injection in PACAP KO mice. Conclusion: Our results showed that endogenous PACAP has a protective role in LPS-caused retinal inflammation.

Background Schizophrenia has a negative effect on the activity of the temporal and prefrontal cortices in the processing of emotional facial expressions. However no previous research focused on the evaluation of mixed emotions in schizophrenia, albeit they are frequently expressed in everyday situations and negative emotions are frequently expressed by mixed facial expressions. Methods Altogether 37 subjects, 19 patients with schizophrenia and 18 healthy control subjects were enrolled in the study. The two study groups did not differ in age and education. The stimulus set consisted of 10 fearful (100%), 10 happy (100%), 10 mixed fear (70% fear and 30% happy) and 10 mixed happy facial expressions. During the fMRI acquisition pictures were presented in a randomized order and subjects had to categorize expressions by button press. Results A decreased activation was found in the patient group during fear, mixed fear and mixed happy processing in the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and the right anterior insula (RAI) at voxel and cluster level after familywise error correction. No difference was found between study groups in activations to happy facial condition. Patients with schizophrenia did not show a differential activation between mixed happy and happy facial expression similar to controls in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Conclusions Patients with schizophrenia showed decreased functioning in right prefrontal regions responsible for salience signaling and valence evaluation during emotion recognition. Our results indicate that fear and mixed happy/fear processing are impaired in schizophrenia, while happy facial expression processing is relatively intact.

In the European Union between 0.2 and 2.6% of the population suffer from psychotic disorders, and around 40% can be considered resistant to pharmacological treatment [1]. Interventions based on m-Health solutions may be effective in increasing treatment adherence, relieving some of the symptoms of schizophrenia and thus, preventing relapses. Although smartphone ownership among people with schizophrenia is relatively high and increasing, to date, mHealth studies have not been performed in Treatment Resistant Schizophrenia (TRS) samples. In this study, we present the results of the m-RESIST feasibility project (www.mresist.eu), a new therapeutic program based on novel technology.). The aim of the m-RESIST study is to assess acceptability, usability and user experience, satisfaction and empowerment after using the m-RESIST solution. Thirty-nine TRS patients, 11 caregivers and 8 clinicians were recruited for the study, which was carried out in Gertner Institute (Tel-Aviv, Israel), Semmelweis University (Budapest, Hungary) and Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (Barcelona, Spain). Acceptability was measured with an adapted version to TRS patients of TAM questionnaire (7-point Likert scale). [2]. Satisfaction and empowerment was measured with CSQ-8 [3] and BUES [4] scales respectively. In order to yield insights into user experience a questionnaire was developed and administered at the start, in the middle and at the end of the pilot. Results showed that patients’ acceptance of m-RESIST ranged from moderate to high, with a mean score for perceived use and ease of use 5.16 and 5.36, respectively. In general, patient’s satisfaction was good: 57% thought that the quality of service was good or excellent. 65% of patients reported having the services they wanted and 43% thought that the program met their needs. However, 19% did not get the kind of service they wanted and for 38% only few of their needs were met. 78% of the sample was overall satisfied with m-RESIST and 70% would come back again to it. In terms of user experience, patients indicated that m-RESIST solution permits an easier and a quicker communication with clinicians. Patients also reported that the feeling of having a clinical team involved and concerned din their wellbeing made them feel more protected. Caregivers reported that m-RESIST provided a better support for patients and a better follow-up, and also were unanimous about the sense of security. Clinicians indicated that the m-RESIST system was easy and intuitive to use and felt that it opened up a new communication pathway with their patients. Finally, the result of empowerment in our patients was 2.76, out of a possible score of 4, which indicates a high level of empowerment Mean for dropouts was 20%. To conclude, in terms of acceptability, usability and satisfaction, the m-RESIST solution was well accepted by patients, caregivers and clinicians. These results offer an encouraging starting point concerning the use of ICT tools in the treatment of TRS patients. m-RESIST project is founded by Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union. Co-financed with European Union ERDF Funds.

Dirofilariosis is an emerging mosquito-borne veterinary and medical problem in the Northern hemisphere. The ecological investigation of 56 canine dirofilariosis cases in new endemic locations was performed in Szeged, Hungary. The aim was to analyse the influence of the spatial patterns of dog abundance and the potential mosquito breeding habitats on the spatial occurrence patterns of dirofilariosis in the city of Szeged. The limnoecological characterisation was based on the fluvial habitat classification of Amoros of natural water bodies; the built environment was evaluated using the UrbanisationScore urbanisation intensity measuring software. Dirofilaria immitis accounted for 51% and D. repens for 34.3% of the dirofilariosis cases, and in 20% of the cases only the Knott’s test was positive. It was concluded that most of the cases were related to locations with a medium to high urbanisation index, although the proximity of mosquito-bearing waters also played an important role in the observed spatial infection patterns. We found that the distance from potential mosquito habitats and the urbanisation intensity determine the abundance of dirofilariosis in urban environments.

Background Psychotic symptoms might be explained by disturbances of information processing due to errors of inference during neural coding, and hierarchical models could advance our understanding of how impaired functioning at different levels of the processing hierarchy are associated with psychotic symptoms. However, in order to examine to what extent such alterations are temporary or stable, the psychometric reliability and validity of the measurements need to be established. Individual differences in visual perception were measured by responses to uncertain stimuli presented during a probabilistic associative learning task. Our novel contributions are the measurement of cross-modal (visual and acoustic) associative learning and the assessment of the psychometric properties of indicators derived from a perceptual decision task: we evaluate its internal consistency, test-retest reliability and external validity as shown by associations with schizotypal traits. Methods Participants (32 healthy individuals, 13 men, age (SD) = 27.4 (9.4)) performed a perceptual decision task twice with one week delay. They were asked to indicate the direction of perceived motion of disambiguous and ambiguous visual stimuli (640 trials), which were preceded by visual and acoustic cues that were probabilistically associated with the motion direction and were congruent (both predict the same motion) or incongruent (cues predict different motion). Schizotypal traits were measured with the short version of the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE) questionnaire, which showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.71 – 0.83 for subscales, test-retest correlation for Cognitive Disorganization: r = 0.84, and Unusual Experiences: r = 0.79). Results We found a significant difference in response reaction times between stimuli with high and low probability (t = -2.037; p = 0.044). Acoustic cues predicted the decision significantly higher in case of ambiguous stimuli in both sessions (1. t=4.19, p Discussion The results show some intraindividual stability of individual differences in perceptual decision making as measured by our paradigm. Participants with higher schiztypal scores tend to have slower response speed under uncertainty and greater bias towards reliance on auditory cues in a small healthy sample which implies it might be useful to measure these variables in clinical population and evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions or illness progression in follow-up studies. The presented preliminary results derived from descriptive statistics of the behavioral data. Our research group is currently working on fitting a trial-by-trial hierarchical computational model - which includes the representation of uncertainty - to find more detailed individual differences, e.g. the time course of parameter changes while learning in a visual perception task.

The tasks of national spatial planning (i.e., delineation of areas with natural constraints or areas with excellent productivity; support of irrigation strategies; flood, drought, and climate change impact risk assessment) increasingly demand advanced or new kinds of spatial soil information, which cannot be fully satisfied by legacy soil maps or formerly elaborated databases. Due to the lack of recent, extended, nationwide mapping, the data of previous surveys should be exploited thoroughly. Digital soil mapping integrates geographic information systems (GIS), geostatistical, and data mining tools and makes possible the elaboration of target-specific soil maps with improved and/or specific thematic, spatial, and temporal accuracy as opposed to former, more general soil maps. For the satisfaction of the recent demands, soil conditions of Hungary have been digitally mapped based on various available recent and legacy soil datasets, and spatially exhaustive, environmental, and auxiliary information. The produced digital soil property maps have been miscellaneously utilized in various regional planning activities.

The construction of reservoirs and hydropower plants was accelerated in the past century due to the increasing aridity in many parts of the world. The effect of water regulations on the abundance of mosquito vectors is controversial. In this paper, the habitat preference of mosquitoes was investigated based on a 30-years long collection of the mosquito data in Hungary and military maps and satellite images. Three time phases of the analyzed section in the Danube River were analyzed in order to characterize the impact of human influence on mosquito habitats: the semi-natural phase, the post channelization phase and the post hydropower dam state. Geographical data referring to the years 1790, 1820, 1830, 1870, 1946 and 1955 were based on military maps, whereas the years 2004 and 2013 were analyzed by satellite imagery. The Amoros-like eupotamon A - plesiopotamon line represents an increasing gradient of habitat-suitability for mosquitoes. The habitat-preference of different mosquitoes to the Amoros-classified water habitats was based on a monographic collection data. This dataset contains the collecting and trapping results from the 1960s to the early 2000s in Hungary. We found that human-induced changes had prolonged impact on mosquito-suitable habitats, although the effect can be different for diverse mosquito species. The increase of the evenness of the mosquito fauna was seen since the mid-20th century, after the primary river regulation. The increasing areal extension of relatively warm and nutrient-rich water habitats had positive effects on the more rare members of the mosquito fauna, such as the potential malaria vector mosquito Anopheles algeriensis according to the model results. Summarizing, we found a strong, positive link between anthropogenic interventions and the mosquito diversity in water ecosystems.

Empirical data from previous investigations showed that emotion processing is reflected in beta, and especially in low beta event related desynchronization (ERD) (i.e. a decrease in low beta power). While recognition of social information and emotion processing are impaired in schizophrenia, no previous study analyzed induced and evoked beta oscillations in patients with schizophrenia during emotion processing. Twenty-eight subjects with schizophrenia and twenty-seven healthy controls subjects were enrolled in the study. The two study groups did not differ in age, gender and education. Participants viewed positive, neutral and negative scenes selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) while 128-channel EEG was recorded. A significantly weaker low beta ERD was detected in patients relative to controls for the negative stimulus condition in the right parieto-occipital and temporal regions. Patients with decreased beta ERD showed more prominent negative symptoms and more severe deficits in psychosocial functioning. Only in the control group stronger beta ERD was detected for the negative stimuli relative to positive and neutral stimuli in the same regions. Our major finding is that impaired emotion processing in schizophrenia is reflected in decreased low beta ERD and in the diminished differences between low beta ERD to negative and non-negative emotional stimuli. Furthermore, it was found that patients with decreased beta ERD show more prominent negative symptoms and more severe deficits in psychosocial functioning.

article i nfo Introduction: Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an automatic brain response to unexpected events. It represents a prediction error (PE) response, reflecting the difference between the sensory input and predictions. While defi- cits in auditory MMN are well known in schizophrenia, only few studies investigated impairments in predictive visual processing in schizophrenia. These studies used complex stimuli such as motion direction and emotional facial expressions. Here we studied whether automatic predictive processing of elementary features such as ori- entation is also impaired in schizophrenia. Methods: Altogether 28 patients with schizophrenia and 27 healthy controls matched in age, gender, and educa- tion participated in the study. EEG was recorded using 128 channels in the two experimental blocks. Using an oddball paradigm, horizontal stripes of Gabor patches were presented as frequent standards and vertical stripes as rare deviants in one block. Stimulus probabilities were swapped in the other block. Mismatch responses were obtained by subtracting responses to standard from those to deviant stimuli. Results: We foundsignificantmismatchresponsesinhealthycontrolsbutnotinpatients intheprefrontal and oc- cipital-parietal regions in the 90-200 ms interval. Furthermore patients showed significantly decreased deviant minus standard differencewaveformsrelative tocontrolsinthesame regionswith moderate to large effectsizes. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that predictive processing of unattended low-level visual features such as orientation is impaired in schizophrenia. Our results complement reports of sensory deficits found in tasks re- quiringattentiveprocessingandsuggestthatdeficitsarepresentinautomaticvisualsensoryprocessesputatively mediated by glutamatergic functioning.

A new illegal psychotropic substance appeared in Hungary during the first months of 2011. Acutely hospitalized patients with psychosis disclosed using a new type of designer drug, previously unknown to clinicians. As the new drug became better known, the cases with acute intoxication were often also transported to toxicology departments. In this study we summarize 5 short case studies that demonstrate the heterogeneous symptoms associated with MDPV abuse, and draw attention to the frequently occurring delusions, and the extended risk of intravenous substance use. Present case studies include patients with and without psychiatric history, regular and occasional users, intravenous and other routes of administration. In the short run antipsychotic therapy reduced the symptoms in all cases, but there is no clear therapeutic guideline for the treatment of patients having psychiatric problems associated with these drugs at the present time. The laboratory examination is unresolved as well. Mephedrone, MDPV and recent drugs have drawn attention to the problem of designer drugs again. This article examines the interaction of drug consumption trends and changes in law, apropos of the presented cases. This information can be helpful for the future treatment of MDPV or other designer drug users. Possible research and therapeutic implications are also discussed.

IntroductionPrevious studies have found association between several schizophrenia candidate genes and neurocognition in schizophrenia patients and healthy individuals. Both brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) are important for neurodevelopmental processes and have been implicated as schizophrenia candidate genes, as well as genes influencing neurocognition.Objectives and aimsTo test for the previously described association of these genes with schizophrenia and neurocognition.MethodsDNA samples from a homogeneous sample of 280 schizophrenia patients and 230 healthy controls were genotyped for polymorphisms in schizophrenia candidate genes DISC1 (rs821597 and rs821616) and BDNF (rs6265). Clinical assessment was performed using the Schedule for Deficit Syndrome and the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale. Neurocognitive functioning was assessed in a subsample of 263 patients and 135 healthy controls by a comprehensive neuropsychological test-battery. Based on the raw neuropsychological measures we calculated a global index of cognitive impairment and domain-specific composite z-scores. Association between the above composite scores and the SNPs was examined using GLM and GENMOD analysis.ResultsThe investigated SNPs were not associated with schizophrenia, nor with the deficit or non-deficit subgroups. However we found significant association between global cognitive impairment and rs821616 in DISC1 (F = 3.02, p = 0.05) and rs6265 in BDNF (F = 4.47, p = 0.01); moreover rs6265 was associated with working memory (F = 6.22, p = 0.002) and attention (F = 7.27, p = 0.0074)ConclusionUsing neurocognition as an endophenotype for psychotic disorders in genetic studies has the potential to determine common and separate genetic factors influencing disease risk and neurocognition.