The interaction of electrodermal activity and expressed emotion in predicting symptoms in recent-onset schizophrenia

Computer-aided learning for managing stress: A feasibility trial with clinical high risk adolescents and young adults

AIM

The peak onset of psychotic disorders occurs during adolescence and early adulthood, yet treatments for youth at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis are generally designed for adults. CHR youth, despite poor academic and social engagement, spend hours each day playing complicated videogames. The aim of this study was to test the feasibility of integrating biofeedback and cooperative videogame play within family therapy as a means of engaging and enhancing this population's resilience.

METHODS

We conducted a feasibility trial of an innovative 12-week family therapy for CHR ages 12-30 (clinicaltrials.gov NCT02531243). We report feasibility outcomes and preliminary effect sizes for pre-post changes and youth-parent differences.

RESULTS

Of 88 individuals referred to the centre who met age and CHR criteria, 11 (13%) youth-parent pairs met full criteria and engaged in treatment. Ten (91%) completed at least six sessions. Youth found CALMS initially credible, but parents tended to find it more credible and to be more satisfied over time. Surprisingly, parents reported a better game experience than youth. As a group, youth and parent participants reported experiencing reduced stress and perceiving each other as less critical by the end of treatment. Youth were rated as having significantly improved social, but not role or global functioning by the end of treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Multiuser videogames may have a role to play in engaging youth at risk for psychosis in therapy and reducing stress and familial risk factors. A number of key developments are needed to enhance the appeal, effectiveness and practicality of this approach.

Parasympathetic activity as a potential biomarker of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia

INTRODUCTION

Autonomic dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia has raised concern considering the higher cardiovascular mortality and morbidity rate. This phenomenon has been demonstrated using various measurements and is inferred to be associated with demographics, medical treatment, and psychopathology. However, few have targeted the role of negative symptoms within schizophrenia.

METHODS

Schizophrenia patients with stationary psychopathology were recruited from a chronic ward, a daycare center, and a nonintensive case management program. Demographic data, medication history, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) score, the Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP) score, and the five-minute resting-state heart rate variability (HRV) were collected at trial initiation (Time 1) and a year later (Time 2). The relationships between variables and HRV indices were evaluated using correlation and regression analyses.

RESULTS

A total of 63 participants were recruited at Time 1, with 29 participants remaining at Time 2. Correlation analyses showed a negative correlation between the PANSS negative score (PANSS-N) and total power (TP), low-frequency power (LF), and high-frequency power (HF) at Time 1. The results were further examined with multiple linear regression analysis and remained significant between the PANSS-N score and HF (β = -0.306, P = .012). A generalized estimating equation model revealed the above negative association to be significant considering both timepoints.

DISCUSSION

The negative association between negative symptom severity and parasympathetic activity was significant, which may inspire further research into the corresponding treatment, the mechanisms, and the use of HRV as an applicable biomarker for treatment response.

Parental criticism and behavior problems in children with autism spectrum disorder

Associations between parent critical attitudes (a component of the Expressed Emotion construct) and behavior problems have been relatively well established in adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder, but use of systems adapted for children with autism spectrum disorder and additional investigations with younger samples are needed. This study examined parental criticism, derived from a population-specific coding system, as related to behavior problems in children with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 4 and 11 years, and considered parental warmth and children's psychophysiological reactivity as statistical moderators of these associations. In all, 40 children with autism spectrum disorder and their primary caregivers attended a visit involving collection of child electrodermal activity, parent-child interaction, a parent interview from which critical attitudes and warmth were coded, and parent report of child behavior problems. Criticism was directly related to higher child externalizing but not internalizing problems. Parental criticism interacted with warmth in the prediction of internalizing problems such that criticism was only associated with more problems in the context of moderate but not high warmth. Criticism was positively associated with externalizing problems under conditions of moderate and high, but not low, child electrodermal activity reactivity. Implications for conceptualizations of parental criticism in autism spectrum disorder, for understanding comorbid behavior problems in this population, and for intervention are discussed.