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Hirjak D, Ams M, Gass P, Kubera KM, Sambataro F, Foucher JR, Northoff G, Wolf RC. Historical postmortem studies on catatonia: Close reading and analysis of Kahlbaum's cases and scientific texts between 1800 and 1900. Schizophr Res 2024; 263:18-26. [PMID: 37147227 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2023.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
In the 19th century, postmortem brain examination played a central role in the search for the neurobiological origin of psychiatric and neurological disorders. During that time, psychiatrists, neurologists, and neuropathologists examined autopsied brains from catatonic patients and postulated that catatonia is an organic brain disease. In line with this development, human postmortem studies of the 19th century became increasingly important in the conception of catatonia and might be seen as precursors of modern neuroscience. In this report, we closely examined autopsy reports of eleven catatonia patients of Karl Ludwig Kahlbaum. Further, we performed a close reading and analysis of previously (systematically) identified historical German and English texts between 1800 and 1900 for autopsy reports of catatonia patients. Two main findings emerged: (i) Kahlbaum's most important finding in catatonia patients was the opacity of the arachnoid; (ii) historical human postmortem studies of catatonia patients postulated a number of neuroanatomical abnormalities such as cerebral enlargement or atrophy, anemia, inflammation, suppuration, serous effusion, or dropsy as well as alterations of brain blood vessels such as rupture, distension or ossification in the pathogenesis of catatonia. However, the exact localization has often been missing or inaccurate, probably due to the lack of standardized subdivision/nomenclature of the respective brain areas. Nevertheless, Kahlbaum's 11 autopsy reports and the identified neuropathological studies between 1800 and 1900 made important discoveries, which still have the potential to inform and bolster modern neuroscientific research in catatonia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dusan Hirjak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
| | - Miriam Ams
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Peter Gass
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Katharina M Kubera
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Fabio Sambataro
- Department of Neuroscience, Università degli studi di Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center, Università degli studi di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Jack R Foucher
- ICube - CNRS UMR 7357, Neurophysiology, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, CEMNIS (UF 4768) Non-invasive Neuromodulation Center, University Hospital Strasbourg, BP 426, 67 091 Strasbourg, France
| | - Georg Northoff
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Robert Christian Wolf
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
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Mallien AS, Brandwein C, Vasilescu AN, Leenaars C, Bleich A, Inta D, Hirjak D, Gass P. A systematic scoping review of rodent models of catatonia: Clinical correlations, translation and future approaches. Schizophr Res 2024; 263:109-121. [PMID: 37524635 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2023.07.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
Catatonia is a psychiatric disorder, which subsumes a plethora of affective, motor and behavioral symptoms. In the last two decades, the number of behavioral and neuroimaging studies on catatonia has steadily increased. The majority of behavioral and neuroimaging studies in psychiatric patients suggested aberrant higher-order frontoparietal networks which, on the biochemical level, are insufficiently modulated by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic and glutamatergic transmission. However, the pathomechanisms of catatonic symptoms have rarely been studied using rodent models. Here, we performed a scoping review of literature available on PubMed for studies on rodent models of catatonia. We sought to identify what we could learn from pre-clinical animal models of catatonia-like symptoms, their underlying neuronal correlates, and the complex molecular (i.e. genes and neurotransmitter) mechanisms by which its modulation exerts its effects. What becomes evident is that although many transgenic models present catatonia-like symptoms, they have not been used to better understand the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying catatonia so far. However, the identified neuronal correlates of catatonia-like symptoms correlate to a great extent with findings from neuroscience research in psychiatric patients. This points us towards fundamental cortical-striatal-thalamocortical and associated networks modulated by white matter inflammation as well as aberrant dopaminergic, GABAergic, and glutamatergic neurotransmission that is involved in catatonia. Therefore, this scoping review opens up the possibility of finally using transgenic models to help with identifying novel target mechanisms for the development of new drugs for the treatment of catatonia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne S Mallien
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; Research Group Animal Models in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Christiane Brandwein
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; Research Group Animal Models in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Andrei-Nicolae Vasilescu
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; Research Group Animal Models in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Cathalijn Leenaars
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; Department for Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Centre, 6600 Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - André Bleich
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Dragos Inta
- Research Group Animal Models in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Dusan Hirjak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Peter Gass
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; Research Group Animal Models in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
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3
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Foucher JR, Dormegny-Jeanjean LC, Bartsch AJ, Humbert I, de Billy CC, Obrecht A, Mainberger O, Clauss JME, Waddington JL, Wolf RC, Hirjak D, Morra C, Ungvari G, Schorr B, Berna F, Shorter E. Paratonia, Gegenhalten and psychomotor hypertonia Back to the roots. Schizophr Res 2024; 263:35-44. [PMID: 36155159 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.08.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/28/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
In the first half of the 20th century, well before the antipsychotic era, paratonia, Gegenhalten and psychomotor hypertonia were described as new forms of hypertonia intrinsic to particular psychoses and catatonic disorders. A series of astute clinical observations and experiments supported their independence from rigidity seen in Parkinson's disease. After World War II, motor disorders went out of fashion in psychiatry, with drug-induced parkinsonism becoming the prevailing explanation for all involuntary resistance to passive motion. With the 'forgetting' of paratonia and Gegenhalten, parkinsonism became the prevailing reading grid, such that the rediscovery of hypertonia in antipsychotic-naive patients at the turn of the 21st century is currently referred to as "spontaneous parkinsonism", implicitly suggesting intrinsic and drug-induced forms to be the same. Classical descriptive psychopathology gives a more nuanced view in suggesting two non-parkinsonian hypertonias: (i) locomotor hypertonia corresponds to Ernest Dupré's paratonia and Karl Kleist's reactive Gegenhalten; it is a dys-relaxation phenomenon that often needs to be activated. (ii) Psychomotor hypertonia is experienced as an admixture of assistance and resistance that partially overlaps with Kleist's spontaneous Gegenhalten, but was convincingly isolated by Henri Claude and Henri Baruk thanks to electromyogram recordings; psychomotor hypertonia is underpinned by "anticipatory contractions" of cortical origin, occurrence of which in phase or antiphase with the movement accounted for facilitation or opposition to passive motions. This century-old knowledge is not only of historical interest. Some results have recently been replicated in dementia and as now known to involve specific premotor systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack R Foucher
- CEMNIS - Noninvasive Neuromodulation Center, University Hospital Strasbourg, France; ICube - CNRS UMR 7357, Neurophysiology, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, France; Pôle de Psychiatrie, Santé Mentale et Addictologie, University Hospital Strasbourg, France.
| | - Ludovic C Dormegny-Jeanjean
- CEMNIS - Noninvasive Neuromodulation Center, University Hospital Strasbourg, France; ICube - CNRS UMR 7357, Neurophysiology, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, France
| | - Andreas J Bartsch
- Department of Neuroradiology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ilia Humbert
- CEMNIS - Noninvasive Neuromodulation Center, University Hospital Strasbourg, France
| | - Clément C de Billy
- CEMNIS - Noninvasive Neuromodulation Center, University Hospital Strasbourg, France; ICube - CNRS UMR 7357, Neurophysiology, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, France
| | - Alexandre Obrecht
- CEMNIS - Noninvasive Neuromodulation Center, University Hospital Strasbourg, France; ICube - CNRS UMR 7357, Neurophysiology, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, France
| | - Olivier Mainberger
- CEMNIS - Noninvasive Neuromodulation Center, University Hospital Strasbourg, France; ICube - CNRS UMR 7357, Neurophysiology, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, France
| | - Julie M E Clauss
- Pôle de Psychiatrie, Santé Mentale et Addictologie, University Hospital Strasbourg, France; SAGE - CNRS UMR 7363, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, France
| | - John L Waddington
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
| | - R Christian Wolf
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Dusan Hirjak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Carlos Morra
- International Network for the History of Neuropsychopharmacology (INHN); Sanatorio Morra, Cordoba, Argentina
| | - Gabor Ungvari
- Section of Psychiatry, University Notre Dame, Fremantle, Australia
| | - Benoit Schorr
- Pôle de Psychiatrie, Santé Mentale et Addictologie, University Hospital Strasbourg, France; Physiopathologie et Psychopathologie Cognitive de la Schizophrénie - INSERM 1114, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, France
| | - Fabrice Berna
- Pôle de Psychiatrie, Santé Mentale et Addictologie, University Hospital Strasbourg, France; Physiopathologie et Psychopathologie Cognitive de la Schizophrénie - INSERM 1114, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, France
| | - Edward Shorter
- History of Medicine Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada
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Caroff SN, Ungvari GS, Gazdag G. Treatment of schizophrenia with catatonic symptoms: A narrative review. Schizophr Res 2024; 263:265-274. [PMID: 36404216 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.11.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Catatonia is a neuropsychiatric syndrome consisting of psychomotor abnormalities caused by a broad range of disorders affecting brain function. While the nosological status of catatonia is no longer restricted to a subtype of schizophrenia in standardized diagnostic systems, the character, course, and clinical significance of catatonia in people with schizophrenia remain unclear. Evidence suggests that catatonia could be a nonspecific state-related phenomenon, a fundamental core symptom dimension of schizophrenia, or a subcortical variant of schizophrenia. Either way, the validity of catatonia in schizophrenia is clinically significant only insofar as it predicts prognosis and response to treatment. Most contemporary clinical trials of antipsychotics have targeted schizophrenia as an overly broad unitary psychosis neglecting any differential response defined by phenomenology or course. However, early naturalistic studies showed that catatonia predicted poor response to first-generation antipsychotics in chronic schizophrenia and case reports cautioned against the risk of triggering neuroleptic malignant syndrome. More recent studies suggest that second-generation antipsychotics, particularly clozapine, may be effective in schizophrenia with catatonic symptoms, while small randomized controlled trials have found that the short-term response to ECT may be faster and more significant. Based on available data, conclusions are limited as to whether antipsychotics are as effective and safe in acute and chronic schizophrenia with catatonic symptoms compared to other treatments and compared to schizophrenia without catatonia. Further studies of the pathophysiology, phenomenology, course and predictive value of catatonia in schizophrenia are worthwhile.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanley N Caroff
- Behavioral Health Service, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Gabor S Ungvari
- Division of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia; Section of Psychiatry, University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, Australia
| | - Gábor Gazdag
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Jahn Ferenc South Pest Hospital, Budapest, Hungary; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
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Northoff G, Hirjak D. Spatiotemporal Psychopathology - An integrated brain-mind approach and catatonia. Schizophr Res 2024; 263:151-159. [PMID: 36335076 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Catatonia is featured by complex symptoms combining motor, affective and behavioral phenomena as well as by its syndrome character with trans-diagnostic occurrence. It paradigmatically shows the limits of current forms of psychopathology like affective and cognitive approaches with respect to both clinical symptoms and brain mechanisms. We therefore suggest Spatiotemporal Psychopathology (STPP) which, as recently introduced, is here developed further following the latest findings in both clinical psychiatry and neuroscience. STPP is characterized by two core features: (i) an experience-based approach that accounts for symptoms primarily in terms of first-person experience of time-space as distinct from third-person observation of specific functions and related behavior; (ii) an integrated brain-mind approach where the brain's neural topography and dynamic, e.g., inner time and space, are shared by the mind's mental topography and dynamic, e.g., time-space experience, as their "common currency". We demonstrate how these two features can well account for both symptom complexity and trans-diagnostic nature of catatonia. In conclusion, catatonia can serve as paradigmatic example for the need to develop a more comprehensive psychopathological approach in psychiatry. This is provided by STPP that allows integrating subjective experience, clinical symptoms and the brain's neural activity in terms of their inner space-time, e.g., topography and dynamic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georg Northoff
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
| | - Dusan Hirjak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
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Schorr B, Clauss JME, de Billy CC, Dassing R, Zinetti-Bertschy A, Domergny-Jeanjean LC, Obrecht A, Mainberger O, Schürhoff F, Foucher JR, Berna F. Subtyping chronic catatonia: Clinical and neuropsychological characteristics of progressive periodic catatonia and chronic system catatonias vs. non-catatonic schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2024; 263:55-65. [PMID: 36411196 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Catatonia has been defined by ICD-11 as a nosologically unspecific syndrome. Previous neuropsychiatric conceptions of catatonia such as Wernicke-Kleist-Leonhard's (WKL) one, have isolated chronic catatonic entities, such as progressive periodic catatonia (PPC) and chronic system catatonias (CSC). This study aimed at comparing the clinical and neuropsychological features of PPC, CSC and non-catatonic patients, all diagnosed with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD). The clinical and cognitive measures were compared among 53 SSD patients, first by separating catatonic (C-SSD, n = 27) and non-catatonic patients (NC-SSD, n = 26), and second, by separating PPC (n = 20), CSC (n = 6) and NC-SSD patients. Bayes factors were used to compare the model with 1 or 2 catatonic groups. We found that PPC had a more frequent schizo-affective presentation, higher levels of depression and less positive psychotic symptoms than both CSC and NC-SSD. CSC patients had an earlier illness onset, a poorer cognitive functioning, and higher antipsychotics doses than both PPC and NC-SSD. Most differences between C- and NC-SSD were accounted by characteristics of either PPC or CSC. The model with 2 catatonic groups clearly outperformed that with 1 catatonic group. Our results point to a substantial clinical heterogeneity of 'catatonia' within the SSD population and suggest that distinguishing (at least) 2 chronic catatonic phenotypes (PPC and CSC) may represent a relevant step to apprehend this heterogeneity. It is also a more parsimonious attempt than considering the around 32.000 distinct catatonic presentations resulting from the combinations of 3 out of 15 polythetic criteria for ICD-11 catatonia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benoit Schorr
- Pôle de Psychiatrie, Santé Mentale et Addictologie, University Hospital Strasbourg, France; Physiopathologie et Psychopathologie Cognitive de la Schizophrénie - INSERM 1114, Strasbourg, France; University of Strasbourg, France; FMTS, Strasbourg, France; Fondation FondaMental, 94000 Créteil, France
| | - Julie M E Clauss
- Pôle de Psychiatrie, Santé Mentale et Addictologie, University Hospital Strasbourg, France; SAGE - CNRS UMR 7363, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, France; Fondation FondaMental, 94000 Créteil, France
| | - Clément C de Billy
- iCube - CNRS UMR 7357, Neurophysiology, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, France; CEMNIS - Noninvasive Neuromodulation Center, University Hospital Strasbourg, France
| | - Romane Dassing
- Pôle de Psychiatrie, Santé Mentale et Addictologie, University Hospital Strasbourg, France; Physiopathologie et Psychopathologie Cognitive de la Schizophrénie - INSERM 1114, Strasbourg, France; Fondation FondaMental, 94000 Créteil, France
| | - Anna Zinetti-Bertschy
- Pôle de Psychiatrie, Santé Mentale et Addictologie, University Hospital Strasbourg, France; Fondation FondaMental, 94000 Créteil, France
| | - Ludovic C Domergny-Jeanjean
- University of Strasbourg, France; iCube - CNRS UMR 7357, Neurophysiology, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, France; CEMNIS - Noninvasive Neuromodulation Center, University Hospital Strasbourg, France; FMTS, Strasbourg, France
| | - Alexandre Obrecht
- iCube - CNRS UMR 7357, Neurophysiology, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, France; CEMNIS - Noninvasive Neuromodulation Center, University Hospital Strasbourg, France
| | - Olivier Mainberger
- iCube - CNRS UMR 7357, Neurophysiology, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, France; CEMNIS - Noninvasive Neuromodulation Center, University Hospital Strasbourg, France
| | - Franck Schürhoff
- Fondation FondaMental, 94000 Créteil, France; Inserm U955, Translational Psychiatry Team, 94000 Créteil, France; Pôle de psychiatrie des hôpitaux universitaires Henri-Mondor, DHU Pe-PSY, Paris Est University, 94000 Créteil, France
| | - Jack R Foucher
- University of Strasbourg, France; iCube - CNRS UMR 7357, Neurophysiology, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, France; CEMNIS - Noninvasive Neuromodulation Center, University Hospital Strasbourg, France; FMTS, Strasbourg, France
| | - Fabrice Berna
- Pôle de Psychiatrie, Santé Mentale et Addictologie, University Hospital Strasbourg, France; Physiopathologie et Psychopathologie Cognitive de la Schizophrénie - INSERM 1114, Strasbourg, France; University of Strasbourg, France; FMTS, Strasbourg, France; Fondation FondaMental, 94000 Créteil, France.
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Hirjak D, Brandt GA, Fritze S, Kubera KM, Northoff G, Wolf RC. Distribution and frequency of clinical criteria and rating scales for diagnosis and assessment of catatonia in different study types. Schizophr Res 2024; 263:93-98. [PMID: 36610862 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.12.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A comprehensive assessment of catatonic symptoms is decisive for diagnosis, neuronal correlates, and evaluation of treatment response and prognosis of catatonia. Studies conducted so far used different cut-off criteria and clinical rating scales to assess catatonia. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to examine the frequency and distribution of diagnostic criteria and clinical rating scales for assessing catatonia that were used in scientific studies so far. METHODS We conducted a systematic review using PubMed searching for articles using catatonia rating scales/criteria published from January 1st 1952 (introduction of catatonic schizophrenia to first edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM]) up to December 5th, 2022. RESULTS 1928 articles were considered for analysis. 1762 (91,39 %) studies used one and 166 (8,61 %) used ≥2 definitions of catatonia. However, 979 (50,7 %) articles did not report any systematic assessment of catatonia. As for clinical criteria, DSM criteria were used by the majority of studies (n = 290; 14.0 %), followed by International Classification of Diseases (ICD) criteria (n = 61; 2.9 %). The Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale (BFCRS) was found to be by far the most frequently utilized scale (n = 464; 22.4 % in the respective years), followed by Northoff Catatonia Rating Scale (NCRS) (n = 31; 1.5 % in the respective years). CONCLUSION DSM and ICD criteria as well as BFCRS and NCRS were most frequently utilized and can therefore be recommended as valid instruments for the assessment of catatonia symptomatology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dusan Hirjak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
| | - Geva A Brandt
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Stefan Fritze
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Katharina M Kubera
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Georg Northoff
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Robert Christian Wolf
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
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Hirjak D, Northoff G. Navigating the evolving landscape of catatonia research. Schizophr Res 2024; 263:1-5. [PMID: 37919211 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2023.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Dusan Hirjak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
| | - Georg Northoff
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
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9
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Cattarinussi G, Gugliotta AA, Hirjak D, Wolf RC, Sambataro F. Brain mechanisms underlying catatonia: A systematic review. Schizophr Res 2024; 263:194-207. [PMID: 36404217 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Catatonia is a complex psychomotor disorder characterized by motor, affective, and behavioral symptoms. Despite being known for almost 150 years, its pathomechanisms are still largely unknown. METHODS A systematic research on PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus was conducted to identify neuroimaging studies conducted on group or single individuals with catatonia. Overall, 33 studies employing structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI, n = 11), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, n = 10), sMRI and fMRI (n = 2), functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS, n = 1), single positron emission computer tomography (SPECT, n = 4), positron emission tomography (PET, n = 4), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS, n = 1), and 171 case reports were retrieved. RESULTS Observational sMRI studies showed numerous brain changes in catatonia, including diffuse atrophy and signal hyperintensities, while case-control studies reported alterations in fronto-parietal and limbic regions, the thalamus, and the striatum. Task-based and resting-state fMRI studies found abnormalities located primarily in the orbitofrontal, medial prefrontal, motor cortices, cerebellum, and brainstem. Lastly, metabolic and perfusion changes were observed in the basal ganglia, prefrontal, and motor areas. Most of the case-report studies described widespread white matter lesions and frontal, temporal, or basal ganglia hypoperfusion. CONCLUSIONS Catatonia is characterized by structural, functional, perfusion, and metabolic cortico-subcortical abnormalities. However, the majority of studies and case reports included in this systematic review are affected by considerable heterogeneity, both in terms of populations and neuroimaging techniques, which calls for a cautious interpretation. Further elucidation, through future neuroimaging research, could have great potential to improve the description of the neural motor and psychomotor mechanisms underlying catatonia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Cattarinussi
- Department of Neuroscience (DNS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | | | - Dusan Hirjak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Robert C Wolf
- Department of General Psychiatry at the Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Fabio Sambataro
- Department of Neuroscience (DNS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
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Ungvari GS, Caroff SN, Csihi L, Gazdag G. Catatonia: “Fluctuat nec mergitur”. World J Psychiatry 2023; 13:131-137. [PMID: 37303935 PMCID: PMC10251365 DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v13.i5.131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023] Open
Abstract
In the beginning of the 1900s, the prevalence of catatonia in inpatient samples was reported to be between 19.5% and 50%. From the mid-1900s, most clinicians thought that catatonia was disappearing. Advances in medical sciences, particularly in the field of neurology, may have reduced the incidence of neurological diseases that present with catatonic features or mitigated their severity. More active pharmacological and psychosocial treatment methods may have either eliminated or moderated catatonic phenomena. Moreover, the relatively narrow descriptive features in modern classifications compared with classical texts and ascribing catatonic signs and symptoms to antipsychotic-induced motor symptoms may have contributed to an apparent decline in the incidence of catatonia. The application of catatonia rating scales introduced in the 1990s revealed significantly more symptoms than routine clinical interviews, and within a few years, the notion of the disappearance of catatonia gave way to its un-expected resurgence. Several systematic investigations have found that, on average, 10% of acute psychotic patients present with catatonic features. In this editorial, the changes in the incidence of catatonia and the possible underlying causes are reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabor S Ungvari
- Division of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Western Australia, Crawley 6009, Western Australia, Australia
- Section of Psychiatry, University of Notre Dame, Fremantle 6160, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Stanley N Caroff
- Department of Psychiatric Service, Corporal Michael J Cresencz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
- Department of Psychiatric Service, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
| | - Levente Csihi
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Jahn Ferenc South Pest Hospital, Budapest 1204, Hungary
| | - Gábor Gazdag
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Jahn Ferenc South Pest Hospital, Budapest 1204, Hungary
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest 1083, Hungary
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