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Grave J, Cordeiro S, de Sá Teixeira N, Korb S, Soares SC. Emotional anticipation for dynamic emotional faces is not modulated by schizotypal traits: A Representational Momentum study. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2024:17470218241253703. [PMID: 38679800 DOI: 10.1177/17470218241253703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Schizotypy, a personality structure that resembles schizophrenia symptoms, is often associated with abnormal facial emotion perception. Based on the prevailing sense of threat in psychotic experiences, and the immediate perceptual history of seeing others' facial expressions, individuals with high schizotypal traits may exhibit a heightened tendency to anticipate anger. To test this, we used insights from Representational Momentum (RM), a perceptual phenomenon in which the endpoint of a dynamic event is systematically displaced forward, into the immediate future. Angry-to-ambiguous and happy-to-ambiguous avatar faces were presented, each followed by a probe with the same (ambiguous) expression as the endpoint, or one slightly changed to express greater happiness/anger. Participants judged if the probe was "equal" to the endpoint and rated how confident they were. The sample was divided into high (N = 46) and low (N = 49) schizotypal traits using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). First, a forward bias was found in happy-to-ambiguous faces, suggesting emotional anticipation solely for dynamic faces changing towards a potential threat (anger). This may reflect an adaptative mechanism, as it is safer to anticipate any hostility from a conspecific than the opposite. Second, contrary to our hypothesis, high schizotypal traits did not heighten RM for happy-to-ambiguous faces, nor did they lead to overconfidence in biased judgements. This may suggest a typical pattern of emotional anticipation in non-clinical schizotypy, but caution is needed due to the use of self-report questionnaires, university students, and a modest sample size. Future studies should also investigate if the same holds for clinical manifestations of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana Grave
- William James Center for Research (WJCR-Aveiro), Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
- Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS@RISE), Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Sara Cordeiro
- Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Nuno de Sá Teixeira
- William James Center for Research (WJCR-Aveiro), Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Sebastian Korb
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sandra Cristina Soares
- William James Center for Research (WJCR-Aveiro), Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
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Karamaouna P, Zouraraki C, Economou E, Kafetsios K, Bitsios P, Giakoumaki SG. Cold executive function processes and their hot analogs in schizotypy. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2024; 30:285-294. [PMID: 37750805 DOI: 10.1017/s1355617723000590] [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] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To examine cold (based on logical reasoning) versus hot (having emotional components) executive function processes in groups with high individual schizotypal traits. METHOD Two-hundred and forty-seven participants were administered the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire and were allocated into schizotypal (cognitive-perceptual, paranoid, negative, disorganized) or control groups according to pre-specified criteria. Participants were also administered a battery of tasks examining working memory, complex selective attention, response inhibition, decision-making and fluid intelligence and their affective counterparts. The outcome measures of each task were reduced to one composite variable thus formulating five cold and five hot cognitive domains. Between-group differences in the cognitive domains were examined with repeated measures analyses of covariance. RESULTS For working memory, the control and the cognitive-perceptual groups outperformed negative schizotypes, while for affective working memory controls outperformed the disorganized group. Controls also scored higher compared with the disorganized group in complex selective attention, while both the control and the cognitive-perceptual groups outperformed negative schizotypes in complex affective selective attention. Negative schizotypes also had striking difficulties in response inhibition, as they scored lower compared with all other groups. Despite the lack of differences in fluid intelligence, controls scored higher compared with all schizotypal groups (except from cognitive-perceptual schizotypes) in emotional intelligence; the latter group reported higher emotional intelligence compared with negative schizotypes. CONCLUSION Results indicate that there is no categorical association between the different schizotypal dimensions with solely cold or hot executive function processes and support impoverished emotional intelligence as a core feature of schizotypy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Penny Karamaouna
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Crete, Rethymno, Crete, Greece
- University of Crete Research Center for the Humanities, the Social and Education Sciences (UCRC), University of Crete, Rethymno, Crete, Greece
| | - Chrysoula Zouraraki
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Crete, Rethymno, Crete, Greece
- University of Crete Research Center for the Humanities, the Social and Education Sciences (UCRC), University of Crete, Rethymno, Crete, Greece
| | - Elias Economou
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Crete, Rethymno, Crete, Greece
| | | | - Panos Bitsios
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Stella G Giakoumaki
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Crete, Rethymno, Crete, Greece
- University of Crete Research Center for the Humanities, the Social and Education Sciences (UCRC), University of Crete, Rethymno, Crete, Greece
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Diao M, Demchenko I, Asare G, Chen Y, Debruille JB. Quantifying the effects of practicing a semantic task according to subclinical schizotypy. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2900. [PMID: 38316943 PMCID: PMC10844607 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53468-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The learning ability of individuals within the schizophrenia spectrum is crucial for their psychosocial rehabilitation. When selecting a treatment, it is thus essential to consider the impact of medications on practice effects, an important type of learning ability. To achieve this end goal, a pre-treatment test has to be developed and tested in healthy participants first. This is the aim of the current work, which takes advantage of the schizotypal traits present in these participants to preliminary assess the test's validity for use among patients. In this study, 47 healthy participants completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and performed a semantic categorization task twice, with a 1.5-hour gap between sessions. Practice was found to reduce reaction times (RTs) in both low- and high-SPQ scorers. Additionally, practice decreased the amplitudes of the N400 event-related brain potentials elicited by semantically matching words in low SPQ scorers only, which shows the sensitivity of the task to schizotypy. Across the two sessions, both RTs and N400 amplitudes had good test-retest reliability. This task could thus be a valuable tool. Ongoing studies are currently evaluating the impact of fully deceptive placebos and of real antipsychotic medications on these practice effects. This round of research should subsequently assist psychiatrists in making informed decisions about selecting the most suitable medication for the psychosocial rehabilitation of a patient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingyi Diao
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Neurosciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Ilya Demchenko
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Neurosciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Gifty Asare
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Yelin Chen
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - J Bruno Debruille
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.
- Department of Neurosciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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Lányi O, Kéri S, Pálffy Z, Polner B. Can you believe your eyes? Positive schizotypy is associated with increased susceptibility to the Müller-Lyer illusion. Schizophr Res 2024; 264:327-335. [PMID: 38215568 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2023.12.023] [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: 11/04/2022] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS Visual illusions provide a unique opportunity to understand cognitive and perceptual alterations in schizophrenia-spectrum conditions. Schizophrenia patients often exhibit increased susceptibility to the Müller-Lyer illusion. Here, we investigate susceptibility to the Müller-Lyer visual illusion in the general population with different levels of schizotypy. STUDY DESIGN We assessed a population-based convenience sample (N = 263) on an online platform. In addition to basic demographics, participants completed the Müller-Lyer illusion, the Cardiff Anomalous Perceptions Scale (CAPS) to measure perceptual anomalies, and the Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale - Brief (MSS-B) for schizotypic traits. To evaluate what predicts susceptibility to the illusion, we fitted a large set of multilevel logistic regression models and performed model averaging over the coefficients. STUDY RESULTS We found support for increased illusion susceptibility among individuals with high positive schizotypy. However, we did not find a comparable effect for anomalous perceptions alone, or for negative or disorganized schizotypy. CONCLUSIONS The increased Müller-Lyer effect in positive schizotypy might be specific to delusion-like beliefs and magical ideation. Further research is needed to clarify how a hierarchical Bayesian formulation of brain function (e.g. imbalances between bottom-up perceptual processing and substantial reliance on prior expectations) can account for the Müller-Lyer effect in schizophrenia-spectrum conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orsolya Lányi
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Semmelweis University, Balassa utca 6, Budapest 1082, Hungary
| | - Szabolcs Kéri
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Egry József utca 1, Budapest 1111, Hungary; National Institute of Mental Health, Neurology and Neurosurgery - Nyírő Gyula Hospital, Lehel utca 59-61, Budapest 1135, Hungary
| | - Zsófia Pálffy
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Egry József utca 1, Budapest 1111, Hungary.
| | - Bertalan Polner
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE, Eötvös Loránd University, Izabella utca 46, Budapest 1064, Hungary
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Dong D, Wang Y, Zhou F, Chang X, Qiu J, Feng T, He Q, Lei X, Chen H. Functional Connectome Hierarchy in Schizotypy and Its Associations With Expression of Schizophrenia-Related Genes. Schizophr Bull 2023:sbad179. [PMID: 38156676 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbad179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS Schizotypy has been conceptualized as a continuum of symptoms with marked genetic, neurobiological, and sensory-cognitive overlaps to schizophrenia. Hierarchical organization represents a general organizing principle for both the cortical connectome supporting sensation-to-cognition continuum and gene expression variability across the cortex. However, a mapping of connectome hierarchy to schizotypy remains to be established. Importantly, the underlying changes of the cortical connectome hierarchy that mechanistically link gene expressions to schizotypy are unclear. STUDY DESIGN The present study applied novel connectome gradient on resting-state fMRI data from 1013 healthy young adults to investigate schizotypy-associated sensorimotor-to-transmodal connectome hierarchy and assessed its similarity with the connectome hierarchy of schizophrenia. Furthermore, normative and differential postmortem gene expression data were utilized to examine transcriptional profiles linked to schizotypy-associated connectome hierarchy. STUDY RESULTS We found that schizotypy was associated with a compressed functional connectome hierarchy. Moreover, the pattern of schizotypy-related hierarchy exhibited a positive correlation with the connectome hierarchy observed in schizophrenia. This pattern was closely colocated with the expression of schizophrenia-related genes, with the correlated genes being enriched in transsynaptic, receptor signaling and calcium ion binding. CONCLUSIONS The compressed connectome hierarchy suggests diminished functional system differentiation, providing a novel and holistic system-level basis for various sensory-cognition deficits in schizotypy. Importantly, its linkage with schizophrenia-altered hierarchy and schizophrenia-related gene expression yields new insights into the neurobiological continuum of psychosis. It also provides mechanistic insight into how gene variation may drive alterations in functional hierarchy, mediating biological vulnerability of schizotypy to schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debo Dong
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain and Behaviour (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Yulin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- Sleep and NeuroImaging Center, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Feng Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xuebin Chang
- Department of Information Sciences, School of Mathematics and Statistics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jiang Qiu
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, Chongqing, China
| | - Tingyong Feng
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- Research Center of Psychology and Social Development, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Qinghua He
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xu Lei
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- Sleep and NeuroImaging Center, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Hong Chen
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- Research Center of Psychology and Social Development, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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Mas-Bermejo P, Papiol S, Via M, Rovira P, Torrecilla P, Kwapil TR, Barrantes-Vidal N, Rosa A. Schizophrenia polygenic risk score in psychosis proneness. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2023; 273:1665-1675. [PMID: 37301774 PMCID: PMC10713704 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-023-01633-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a complex disorder with a highly polygenic inheritance. It can be conceived as the extreme expression of a continuum of traits that are present in the general population often broadly referred to as schizotypy. However, it is still poorly understood how these traits overlap genetically with the disorder. We investigated whether polygenic risk for SZ is associated with these disorder-related phenotypes (schizotypy, psychotic-like experiences, and subclinical psychopathology) in a sample of 253 non-clinically identified participants. Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) were constructed based on the latest SZ genome-wide association study using the PRS-CS method. Their association with self-report and interview measures of SZ-related traits was tested. No association with either schizotypy or psychotic-like experiences was found. However, we identified a significant association with the Motor Change subscale of the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS) interview. Our results indicate that the genetic overlap of SZ with schizotypy and psychotic-like experiences is less robust than previously hypothesized. The relationship between high PRS for SZ and motor abnormalities could reflect neurodevelopmental processes associated with psychosis proneness and SZ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Mas-Bermejo
- Secció de Zoologia i Antropologia Biològica. Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals. Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sergi Papiol
- Institute of Psychiatric Phenomics and Genomics (IPPG), University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336, Munich, Germany
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- CIBER de Salud Mental, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marc Via
- Brainlab, Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Paula Rovira
- Vicerectorat de Recerca, Investigadora Postdoctoral Margarita Salas, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Centro de Investigación Biomédica (CIBM), Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
- Departamento de Psiquiatría, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria Ibs.Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Pilar Torrecilla
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Thomas R Kwapil
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Neus Barrantes-Vidal
- CIBER de Salud Mental, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Sant Pere Claver-Fundació Sanitària, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Araceli Rosa
- Secció de Zoologia i Antropologia Biològica. Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals. Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
- Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
- CIBER de Salud Mental, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
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Lehmann M, Ettinger U. Metacognitive monitoring in schizotypy: Systematic literature review and new empirical data. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 2023; 81:101891. [PMID: 37453406 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2023.101891] [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: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Deficits in metacognition, the ability to monitor one's own mental states, are key elements of the functional pathology of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Little is known, however, about the integrity of metacognitive processes in subclinical schizotypy. The purpose of the present investigation was two-fold: First, we conducted a preregistered, systematic literature review to synthesize previous research efforts on the role of metacognition in schizotypy. Second, we investigated the relationship between self-reported dimensions of schizotypy and psychometric as well as behavioral measures of metacognition in a preregistered online study. METHODS A large sample (N = 330) completed a questionnaire battery and an episodic memory experiment; task-based metacognition was tapped via trial-by-trial confidence ratings. RESULTS In keeping with findings from our literature review, higher schizotypy was associated with diminished introspective insight and an overly self-referential and maladaptive metacognitive style in metacognition questionnaires. Importantly, low task-based metacognitive efficiency was predictive of high levels of cognitive disorganization, whereas task-related overconfidence (i.e., increased metacognitive bias) was linked with positive schizotypy. LIMITATIONS Due to the comparatively small number of k = 20 studies meeting our inclusion criteria, the systematic literature review provides only preliminary indications for potential conclusions. Furthermore, control over potential disturbing influences in the experimental study was limited due to its online format. CONCLUSIONS Overall, we provide evidence for specific metacognitive deficits in schizotypy and discuss a potential continuity of preserved and impaired aspects of metacognitive monitoring along the psychosis continuum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirko Lehmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, 53111, Bonn, NRW, Germany.
| | - Ulrich Ettinger
- Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, 53111, Bonn, NRW, Germany.
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Cengisiz C, Misir E. Dimensional characteristics of persistent negative symptoms in schizophrenia and their relationships with schizotypy in first-degree relatives. Nord J Psychiatry 2023; 77:737-746. [PMID: 37646862 DOI: 10.1080/08039488.2023.2250777] [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: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF THE ARTICLE Schizophrenia with persistent negative symptoms (PNS) may have different characteristics regarding negative symptom dimensions and heritability patterns. This study aimed to investigate the dimensional characteristics of PNS and their relationships with schizotypal features in first-degree relatives (FDRs). MATERIALS AND METHODS The study included 142 patients, 142 FDRs, and 71 healthy controls (HC). Patients were evaluated with the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS), Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS), Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS), and Simpson-Angus Scale (SAS). Schizotypy Personality Questionnaire was applied to FDR and HC groups. Clinical symptoms were compared between primary-PNS, secondary-PNS, and non-PNS groups. In addition, schizotypy scores were compared between FDRs and HCs. Then, the relationship between the symptoms of the patients in the PNS group and the schizotypy scores of their relatives was evaluated by multiple regression analysis. RESULTS All negative symptom dimension scores were similar in primary-PNS and secondary-PNS and lowest in non-PNS. PNS-FDR had higher in all schizotypy scores than non-PNS-FDR and HC, except for lack of close friends and social anxiety. In the PNS group, positive symptom severity and PANSS experiential deficit scores significantly predicted positive and negative schizotypy scores in relatives. Negative schizotypy was associated with asociality. CONCLUSIONS The PNS is likely a subtype in which the genetic basis of negative symptoms is stronger and is associated with genetic abnormalities shared by positive and negative schizotypy dimensions in relatives. Family-based genetic studies will be beneficial in enlightening the genetic etiology of PNS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cengiz Cengisiz
- Manisa Mental Health and Diseases Hospital, Psychiatry Clinic, Manisa, Turkey
| | - Emre Misir
- Department of Psychiatry, Baskent University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
- Department of Interdisciplinary Neuroscience, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
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9
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Diao M, Demchenko I, Asare G, Quan J, Debruille JB. Finding normal-to-better neurocognitive indexes in individuals with schizotypal traits using a social role task. SCHIZOPHRENIA (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) 2023; 9:66. [PMID: 37773255 PMCID: PMC10541438 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-023-00394-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia patients make more errors and have longer reaction times (RTs) than healthy controls in most cognitive tasks. Deficits are also observed in subclinical participants having high scores on the schizotypal personality questionnaire (SPQ). They are accompanied by smaller amplitudes of the event-related brain potentials (ERPs) that index attention and semantic- and working-memory. These functions are thus thought to be impaired in individuals having various schizophrenia attributes (SzAs). Nevertheless, normal RTs were recently found in SzAs during a particular self-referential task where half of the stimuli were names of extraordinary social roles (e.g., genius). Each name (ordinary or extraordinary) was presented individually, and participants were asked to decide whether or not they would consider themselves performing the role at any moment of their lives. To further test an absence of cognitive deficits in this task, the ERPs elicited by names of social roles were also examined in 175 healthy participants. The absence of longer RTs in high- than in low-SPQs was replicated. Moreover, the ERPs of high SPQs had larger occipital N1s, larger P2s and larger occipital N400s than those of low SPQs while late positive potentials (LPPs) were of similar amplitudes. Such results are consistent with clinical observations of greater attention and faster processing of stimuli related to extraordinary/delusional beliefs. Further studies should test whether the cognitive deficits found in SzAs are due to the use of tasks and stimuli that are less within their focus of interest than within that of healthy controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingyi Diao
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Qc, Canada
- Department of Neurosciences, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada
| | - Ilya Demchenko
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Qc, Canada
- Department of Neurosciences, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada
| | - Gifty Asare
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Qc, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada
| | - Jingyan Quan
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Qc, Canada
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada
| | - J Bruno Debruille
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Qc, Canada.
- Department of Neurosciences, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada.
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada.
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Tiego J, Thompson K, Arnatkeviciute A, Hawi Z, Finlay A, Sabaroedin K, Johnson B, Bellgrove MA, Fornito A. Dissecting Schizotypy and Its Association With Cognition and Polygenic Risk for Schizophrenia in a Nonclinical Sample. Schizophr Bull 2023; 49:1217-1228. [PMID: 36869759 PMCID: PMC10483465 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbac016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Schizotypy is a multidimensional construct that captures a continuum of risk for developing schizophrenia-spectrum psychopathology. Existing 3-factor models of schizotypy, consisting of positive, negative, and disorganized dimensions have yielded mixed evidence of genetic continuity with schizophrenia using polygenic risk scores. Here, we propose an approach that involves splitting positive and negative schizotypy into more specific subdimensions that are phenotypically continuous with distinct positive symptoms and negative symptoms recognized in clinical schizophrenia. We used item response theory to derive high-precision estimates of psychometric schizotypy using 251 self-report items obtained from a non-clinical sample of 727 (424 females) adults. These subdimensions were organized hierarchically using structural equation modeling into 3 empirically independent higher-order dimensions enabling associations with polygenic risk for schizophrenia to be examined at different levels of phenotypic generality and specificity. Results revealed that polygenic risk for schizophrenia was associated with variance specific to delusional experiences (γ = 0.093, P = .001) and reduced social interest and engagement (γ = 0.076, P = .020), and these effects were not mediated via the higher-order general, positive, or negative schizotypy factors. We further fractionated general intellectual functioning into fluid and crystallized intelligence in 446 (246 females) participants that underwent onsite cognitive assessment. Polygenic risk scores explained 3.6% of the variance in crystallized intelligence. Our precision phenotyping approach could be used to enhance the etiologic signal in future genetic association studies and improve the detection and prevention of schizophrenia-spectrum psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeggan Tiego
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, 770 Blackburn Rd, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Kate Thompson
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, 770 Blackburn Rd, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Aurina Arnatkeviciute
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Ziarih Hawi
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Amy Finlay
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Kristina Sabaroedin
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, 770 Blackburn Rd, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Beth Johnson
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Mark A Bellgrove
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Alex Fornito
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, 770 Blackburn Rd, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
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11
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Derome M, Kozuharova P, Diaconescu AO, Denève S, Jardri R, Allen P. Functional connectivity and glutamate levels of the medial prefrontal cortex in schizotypy are related to sensory amplification in a probabilistic reasoning task. Neuroimage 2023; 278:120280. [PMID: 37460012 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The circular inference (CI) computational model assumes a corruption of sensory data by prior information and vice versa, leading at the extremes to 'see what we expect' (through prior amplification) and/or to 'expect what we see' (through sensory amplification). Although a CI mechanism has been reported in a schizophrenia population, it has not been investigated in individuals experiencing psychosis-like experiences, such as people with high schizotypy traits. Furthermore, the neurobiological basis of CI, such as the link between hierarchical amplifications, excitatory neurotransmission, and resting state functional connectivity (RSFC), remains untested. The participants included in the present study consisted of a subsample of those recruited in a study previously published by our group, Kozhuharova et al. (2021b). We included 36 participants with High (n=18) and Low (n=18) levels of schizotypy who completed a probabilistic reasoning task (the Fisher task) for which individual confidence levels were obtained and fitted to the CI model. Participants also underwent a 1H-Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) scan to measure medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) glutamate metabolite levels, and a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scan to measure RSFC of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). People with high levels of schizotypy exhibited changes in CI parameters, altered cortical excitatory neurotransmission and RSFC that were all associated with sensory amplification. Our findings capture a multimodal signature of CI that is observable in people early in the psychosis spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélodie Derome
- School of Psychology, University of Roehampton, Whitelands College, Hollybourne Avenue, London SW154JD, UK; Lille Neuroscience & Cognition Centre (LiNC), Plasticity & Subjectivity Team, Univ Lille, INSERM U-1172, CHU Lille, FR 59037, France; Combined Universities Brain Imaging Centre, Royal Holloway University, London TW200EX, UK
| | - Petya Kozuharova
- School of Psychology, University of Roehampton, Whitelands College, Hollybourne Avenue, London SW154JD, UK
| | - Andreea O Diaconescu
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain and Therapeutics, Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics, CAMH, Toronto M5S2S1, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON MS5, Canada
| | - Sophie Denève
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Computationnelles (LNC²), ENS, INSERM U-960, PSL Research University, Paris, FR 75006, France
| | - Renaud Jardri
- School of Psychology, University of Roehampton, Whitelands College, Hollybourne Avenue, London SW154JD, UK; Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Computationnelles (LNC²), ENS, INSERM U-960, PSL Research University, Paris, FR 75006, France.
| | - Paul Allen
- School of Psychology, University of Roehampton, Whitelands College, Hollybourne Avenue, London SW154JD, UK; Combined Universities Brain Imaging Centre, Royal Holloway University, London TW200EX, UK; Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, SE58AF, UK.
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12
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Perini F, Nazimek JM, Mckie S, Capitão LP, Scaife J, Pal D, Browning M, Dawson GR, Nishikawa H, Campbell U, Hopkins SC, Loebel A, Elliott R, Harmer CJ, Deakin B, Koblan KS. Effects of ulotaront on brain circuits of reward, working memory, and emotion processing in healthy volunteers with high or low schizotypy. SCHIZOPHRENIA (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) 2023; 9:49. [PMID: 37550314 PMCID: PMC10406926 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-023-00385-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
Ulotaront, a trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) and serotonin 5-HT1A receptor agonist without antagonist activity at dopamine D2 or the serotonin 5-HT2A receptors, has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of schizophrenia. Here we report the phase 1 translational studies that profiled the effect of ulotaront on brain responses to reward, working memory, and resting state connectivity (RSC) in individuals with low or high schizotypy (LS or HS). Participants were randomized to placebo (n = 32), ulotaront (50 mg; n = 30), or the D2 receptor antagonist amisulpride (400 mg; n = 34) 2 h prior to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses to task performance. Ulotaront increased subjective drowsiness, but reaction times were impaired by less than 10% and did not correlate with BOLD responses. In the Monetary Incentive Delay task (reward processing), ulotaront significantly modulated striatal responses to incentive cues, induced medial orbitofrontal responses, and prevented insula activation seen in HS subjects. In the N-Back working memory task, ulotaront modulated BOLD signals in brain regions associated with cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. Ulotaront did not show antidepressant-like biases in an emotion processing task. HS had significantly reduced connectivity in default, salience, and executive networks compared to LS participants and both drugs reduced this difference. Although performance impairment may have weakened or contributed to the fMRI findings, the profile of ulotaront on BOLD activations elicited by reward, memory, and resting state is compatible with an indirect modulation of dopaminergic function as indicated by preclinical studies. This phase 1 study supported the subsequent clinical proof of concept trial in people with schizophrenia.Clinical trial registration: Registry# and URL: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01972711, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01972711.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Perini
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
| | - Jadwiga Maria Nazimek
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
| | - Shane Mckie
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
| | - Liliana P Capitão
- University Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, Warneford Lane, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
| | - Jessica Scaife
- University Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, Warneford Lane, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
| | - Deepa Pal
- University Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, Warneford Lane, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
| | - Michael Browning
- University Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, Warneford Lane, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
- P1vital LTD, Manor House, Howbery Business Park, Wallingford, OX10 8BA, UK
| | - Gerard R Dawson
- P1vital LTD, Manor House, Howbery Business Park, Wallingford, OX10 8BA, UK
| | - Hiroyuki Nishikawa
- Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc., 84 Waterford Drive, Marlborough, MA, 01752, USA
| | - Una Campbell
- Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc., 84 Waterford Drive, Marlborough, MA, 01752, USA
| | - Seth C Hopkins
- Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc., 84 Waterford Drive, Marlborough, MA, 01752, USA.
| | - Antony Loebel
- Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc., 84 Waterford Drive, Marlborough, MA, 01752, USA
| | - Rebecca Elliott
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
| | - Catherine J Harmer
- University Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, Warneford Lane, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
| | - Bill Deakin
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
| | - Kenneth S Koblan
- Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc., 84 Waterford Drive, Marlborough, MA, 01752, USA
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13
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Ye JY, Qin XJ, Cui JF, Jia LX, Shi HS, Yang TX, Lui SSY, Wang Y, Chan RCK. Mental time travel for self and others in individuals with a high level of schizotypy. Psych J 2023; 12:524-534. [PMID: 36653195 DOI: 10.1002/pchj.626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Mental time travel (MTT) is the ability to project oneself to the past or future through mental simulation. Moreover, MTT can involve self-related or other-related information. This study aimed to compare MTT in individuals with high levels of schizotypy and that in their counterparts with low levels of schizotypy. Participants with high (n = 37) and low (n = 37) levels of schizotypy completed an MTT task with four conditions [2 (Condition: self vs. other) × 2 (Time orientation: past vs. future)]. They were required to recall past events that had happened to themselves or to a non-intimate person, and to imagine possible future events that might happen to themselves or to a non-intimate person, related to cue words. Outcome measures included specificity, vividness, sense of experience, emotional valence, emotional intensity, proportion of first-person visual perspective in events, and difficulty in event generation. A 2 (Group: high vs. low levels of schizotypy) × 2 (Condition) × 2 (Time orientation) mixed analysis of variance was conducted on each index. Results showed that self-related MTT was more specific than other-related MTT in low levels of schizotypy participants but not in high levels of schizotypy participants. Participants with a high level of schizotypy reported fewer specific events, and reported events with lower vividness and positive emotion than did those with a low level of schizotypy. Self-related MTT showed higher levels of phenomenological characteristics than did other-related MTT. In conclusion, individuals with a high level of schizotypy have altered MTT, and cannot benefit from the self-advantage effect on the specificity of MTT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun-Yan Ye
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiao-Jing Qin
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ji-Fang Cui
- Research Center for Information and Statistics, National Institute of Education Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lu-Xia Jia
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hai-Song Shi
- North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China
| | - Tian-Xiao Yang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Simon S Y Lui
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ya Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Raymond C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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14
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Gengeç Benli Ş, Andaç M. Constructing the Schizophrenia Recognition Method Employing GLCM Features from Multiple Brain Regions and Machine Learning Techniques. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:2140. [PMID: 37443534 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13132140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Accurately diagnosing schizophrenia, a complex psychiatric disorder, is crucial for effectively managing the treatment process and methods. Various types of magnetic resonance (MR) images have the potential to serve as biomarkers for schizophrenia. The aim of this study is to numerically analyze differences in the textural characteristics that may occur in the bilateral amygdala, caudate, pallidum, putamen, and thalamus regions of the brain between individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls via structural MR images. Towards this aim, Gray Level Co-occurence Matrix (GLCM) features obtained from five regions of the right, left, and bilateral brain were classified using machine learning methods. In addition, it was analyzed in which hemisphere these features were more distinctive and which method among Adaboost, Gradient Boost, eXtreme Gradient Boosting, Random Forest, k-Nearest Neighbors, Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), and Naive Bayes had higher classification success. When the results were examined, it was demonstrated that the GLCM features of these five regions in the left hemisphere could be classified as having higher performance in schizophrenia compared to healthy individuals. Using the LDA algorithm, classification success was achieved with a 100% AUC, 94.4% accuracy, 92.31% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and an F1 score of 91.9% in healthy and schizophrenic individuals. Thus, it has been revealed that the textural characteristics of the five predetermined regions, instead of the whole brain, are an important indicator in identifying schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Şerife Gengeç Benli
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Erciyes University, Kayseri 38280, Turkey
| | - Merve Andaç
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Erciyes University, Kayseri 38280, Turkey
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15
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Torrecilla P, Barrantes-Vidal N. The moderating role of hair cortisol in the association of early and recent stress with stress-related phenotypes. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1150142. [PMID: 37416538 PMCID: PMC10320289 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1150142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BackgroundIncreased hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) have been found in clinical samples of schizophrenia, first episode psychosis and clinical risk for psychosis, but evidence of such is scarce in schizotypy. High HCC are supposed to reflect elevated chronic stress. However, HCC were not directly associated with adversity measures and stress-related phenotypes in previous research. This study tested whether HCC moderated the association between a comprehensive range of psychosocial stressors with several stress-related phenotypes in a sample of nonclinical young adults. It was expected that stressors, either distal (i.e., early-life) or recent, would be associated with subclinical features, particularly for those with elevated HCC, reflecting the effects of a potential biological sensitization to stress.MethodsThe sample comprised 132 nonclinical young adults belonging to the Barcelona Longitudinal Investigation of Schizotypy Study (BLISS). Participants completed a questionnaire of childhood adversity and two complementary measures of recent life events, tapping threatening vs. more general life events. Both the frequency and subjective impact (positive vs. negative) of general life events were also assessed. Psychotic (i.e., schizotypy, suspiciousness) and non-psychotic (i.e., depression, anxiety) subclinical features as well as appraisals of perceived stress were examined. Hierarchical linear regressions and simple slope analyses were computed.ResultsHCC moderated the effects of both early and recent stress on suspiciousness as well as the effects of recent life events on perceived stress, such that those with higher HCC presented increased suspiciousness and perceived stress at higher levels of stress exposure. Positive, but not negative, recent life events were associated with decreased perceived stress and depression, and these associations were moderated by low HCC, indicating a buffering effect for those with a non-impaired HPA axis.ConclusionIn line with the neural diathesis-stress model, results highlight the role of the interplay between the HPA axis and exposure to stressful experiences in exacerbating psychosis features and extend evidence to the nonclinical expression of the psychosis continuum. In addition, findings support the protective effect of positive experiences in decreasing stress appraisals and affective disturbances, which is consistent with emerging research about the relevance of positive factors in reducing the likelihood of psychopathological outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilar Torrecilla
- Departament de Psicologia Clínica i de la Salut, Facultat de Psicologia, Edifici B, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Neus Barrantes-Vidal
- Departament de Psicologia Clínica i de la Salut, Facultat de Psicologia, Edifici B, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER de Salud Mental, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
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16
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Bertaccini R, Ippolito G, Tarasi L, Zazio A, Stango A, Bortoletto M, Romei V. Rhythmic TMS as a Feasible Tool to Uncover the Oscillatory Signatures of Audiovisual Integration. Biomedicines 2023; 11:1746. [PMID: 37371840 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11061746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Multisensory integration is quintessential to adaptive behavior, with clinical populations showing significant impairments in this domain, most notably hallucinatory reports. Interestingly, altered cross-modal interactions have also been reported in healthy individuals when engaged in tasks such as the Sound-Induced Flash-Illusion (SIFI). The temporal dynamics of the SIFI have been recently tied to the speed of occipital alpha rhythms (IAF), with faster oscillations entailing reduced temporal windows within which the illusion is experienced. In this regard, entrainment-based protocols have not yet implemented rhythmic transcranial magnetic stimulation (rhTMS) to causally test for this relationship. It thus remains to be evaluated whether rhTMS-induced acoustic and somatosensory sensations may not specifically interfere with the illusion. Here, we addressed this issue by asking 27 volunteers to perform a SIFI paradigm under different Sham and active rhTMS protocols, delivered over the occipital pole at the IAF. Although TMS has been proven to act upon brain tissues excitability, results show that the SIFI occurred for both Sham and active rhTMS, with the illusory rate not being significantly different between baseline and stimulation conditions. This aligns with the discrete sampling hypothesis, for which alpha amplitude modulation, known to reflect changes in cortical excitability, should not account for changes in the illusory rate. Moreover, these findings highlight the viability of rhTMS-based interventions as a means to probe the neuroelectric signatures of illusory and hallucinatory audiovisual experiences, in healthy and neuropsychiatric populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Bertaccini
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
- Neurophysiology Lab., IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, 25125 Brescia, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Ippolito
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy
| | - Luca Tarasi
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
| | - Agnese Zazio
- Neurophysiology Lab., IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, 25125 Brescia, Italy
| | - Antonietta Stango
- Neurophysiology Lab., IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, 25125 Brescia, Italy
| | - Marta Bortoletto
- Neurophysiology Lab., IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, 25125 Brescia, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Romei
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
- Facultad de Lenguas y Educación, Universidad Antonio de Nebrija, 28015 Madrid, Spain
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17
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Deng W, Addington J, Bearden CE, Cadenhead KS, Cornblatt BA, Mathalon DH, Perkins DO, Seidman LJ, Tsuang MT, Woods SW, Walker EF, Cannon TD. Characterizing sustained social anxiety in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis: trajectory, risk factors, and functional outcomes. Psychol Med 2023; 53:3644-3651. [PMID: 35144716 PMCID: PMC10277760 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291722000277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND While comorbidity of clinical high-risk for psychosis (CHR-P) status and social anxiety is well-established, it remains unclear how social anxiety and positive symptoms covary over time in this population. The present study aimed to determine whether there are more than one covariant trajectory of social anxiety and positive symptoms in the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study cohort (NAPLS 2) and, if so, to test whether the different trajectory subgroups differ in terms of genetic and environmental risk factors for psychotic disorders and general functional outcome. METHODS In total, 764 CHR individuals were evaluated at baseline for social anxiety and psychosis risk symptom severity and followed up every 6 months for 2 years. Application of group-based multi-trajectory modeling discerned three subgroups based on the covariant trajectories of social anxiety and positive symptoms over 2 years. RESULTS One of the subgroups showed sustained social anxiety over time despite moderate recovery in positive symptoms, while the other two showed recovery of social anxiety below clinically significant thresholds, along with modest to moderate recovery in positive symptom severity. The trajectory group with sustained social anxiety had poorer long-term global functional outcomes than the other trajectory groups. In addition, compared with the other two trajectory groups, membership in the group with sustained social anxiety was predicted by higher levels of polygenic risk for schizophrenia and environmental stress exposures. CONCLUSIONS Together, these analyses indicate differential relevance of sustained v. remitting social anxiety symptoms in the CHR-P population, which in turn may carry implications for differential intervention strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wisteria Deng
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jean Addington
- Department of Psychiatry, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Calgary, Canada
| | - Carrie E. Bearden
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA
| | | | | | | | - Diana O. Perkins
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Larry J. Seidman
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA
| | | | - Scott W. Woods
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Elaine F. Walker
- Department of Psychology and Psychiatry, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | - Tyrone D. Cannon
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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18
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Hrivikova K, Marko M, Karailievova L, Romanova Z, Oravcova H, Riecansky I, Jezova D. Neuroendocrine response to a psychosocial stress test is not related to schizotypy but cortisol elevation predicts inflexibility of semantic memory retrieval. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2023; 154:106287. [PMID: 37182519 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
An altered stress response can contribute to the transition from preclinical psychotic symptoms to the clinical manifestation of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. The present study was aimed at testing the hypotheses that (i) the autonomic and neuroendocrine responses under psychosocial stress are dysregulated in individuals with high psychosis proneness (schizotypy); (ii) the magnitude of post-stress autonomic activation and cortisol release predicts alterations in semantic memory retrieval. The study was performed in 73 healthy individuals of both sexes with either high or low schizotypal traits preselected out of 609 individuals using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. A psychosocial stress procedure based on public speech was used as a stress model. We found that individuals with high schizotypy engaged in less adaptive emotional stress-coping strategies than low schizotypy individuals. Yet, the neuroendocrine, immune, and sympathetic activation in response to the stress test was not different between the groups. Irrespective of the exposure to the stressor, individuals with high schizotypy were less fluent when retrieving associations from semantic memory. In addition, we demonstrated that acute psychosocial stress reduced the flexibility of semantic memory retrieval. The post-stress mental inflexibility was reliably predicted by the concomitant elevation of cortisol concentrations in saliva. The present study thus brings novel evidence indicating that the acute psychosocial challenge impairs retrieval flexibility in the semantic domain, which may be due to neuroendocrine activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Hrivikova
- Laboratory of Pharmacological Neuroendocrinology, Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - M Marko
- Department of Behavioural Neuroscience, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia; Department of Applied Informatics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - L Karailievova
- Laboratory of Pharmacological Neuroendocrinology, Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Z Romanova
- Laboratory of Pharmacological Neuroendocrinology, Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - H Oravcova
- Laboratory of Pharmacological Neuroendocrinology, Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia; Department of Pharmacology and toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - I Riecansky
- Department of Behavioural Neuroscience, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia.
| | - D Jezova
- Laboratory of Pharmacological Neuroendocrinology, Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
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19
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Haigh SM, Berryhill ME, Kilgore-Gomez A, Dodd M. Working memory and sensory memory in subclinical high schizotypy: An avenue for understanding schizophrenia? Eur J Neurosci 2023; 57:1577-1596. [PMID: 36895099 PMCID: PMC10178355 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
The search for robust, reliable biomarkers of schizophrenia remains a high priority in psychiatry. Biomarkers are valuable because they can reveal the underlying mechanisms of symptoms and monitor treatment progress and may predict future risk of developing schizophrenia. Despite the existence of various promising biomarkers that relate to symptoms across the schizophrenia spectrum, and despite published recommendations encouraging multivariate metrics, they are rarely investigated simultaneously within the same individuals. In those with schizophrenia, the magnitude of purported biomarkers is complicated by comorbid diagnoses, medications and other treatments. Here, we argue three points. First, we reiterate the importance of assessing multiple biomarkers simultaneously. Second, we argue that investigating biomarkers in those with schizophrenia-related traits (schizotypy) in the general population can accelerate progress in understanding the mechanisms of schizophrenia. We focus on biomarkers of sensory and working memory in schizophrenia and their smaller effects in individuals with nonclinical schizotypy. Third, we note irregularities across research domains leading to the current situation in which there is a preponderance of data on auditory sensory memory and visual working memory, but markedly less in visual (iconic) memory and auditory working memory, particularly when focusing on schizotypy where data are either scarce or inconsistent. Together, this review highlights opportunities for researchers without access to clinical populations to address gaps in knowledge. We conclude by highlighting the theory that early sensory memory deficits contribute negatively to working memory and vice versa. This presents a mechanistic perspective where biomarkers may interact with one another and impact schizophrenia-related symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M. Haigh
- Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative Neuroscience, Programs in Cognitive and Brain Sciences, and Neuroscience, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA
| | - Marian E. Berryhill
- Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative Neuroscience, Programs in Cognitive and Brain Sciences, and Neuroscience, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA
| | - Alexandrea Kilgore-Gomez
- Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative Neuroscience, Programs in Cognitive and Brain Sciences, and Neuroscience, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA
| | - Michael Dodd
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
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20
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Zouraraki C, Karamaouna P, Giakoumaki SG. Cognitive Processes and Resting-State Functional Neuroimaging Findings in High Schizotypal Individuals and Schizotypal Personality Disorder Patients: A Systematic Review. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13040615. [PMID: 37190580 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13040615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Ample research findings indicate that there is altered brain functioning in the schizophrenia spectrum. Nevertheless, functional neuroimaging findings remain ambiguous for healthy individuals expressing high schizotypal traits and patients with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD). The purpose of this systematic review was to identify patterns of task-related and resting-state neural abnormalities across these conditions. MEDLINE-PubMed and PsycINFO were systematically searched and forty-eight studies were selected. Forty studies assessed healthy individuals with high schizotypal traits and eight studies examined SPD patients with functional neuroimaging techniques (fNIRS; fMRI; Resting-state fMRI). Functional alterations in striatal, frontal and temporal regions were found in healthy individuals with high schizotypal traits. Schizotypal personality disorder was associated with default mode network abnormalities but further research is required in order to better conceive its neural correlates. There was also evidence for functional compensatory mechanisms associated with both conditions. To conclude, the findings suggest that brain dysfunctions are evident in individuals who lie along the subclinical part of the spectrum, further supporting the continuum model for schizophrenia susceptibility. Additional research is required in order to delineate the counterbalancing processes implicated in the schizophrenia spectrum, as this approach will provide promising insights for both conversion and protection from conversion into schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chrysoula Zouraraki
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Crete, 74100 Rethymno, Greece
- University of Crete Research Center for the Humanities, The Social and Education Sciences (UCRC), University of Crete, Gallos University Campus, 74100 Rethymno, Greece
| | - Penny Karamaouna
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Crete, 74100 Rethymno, Greece
- University of Crete Research Center for the Humanities, The Social and Education Sciences (UCRC), University of Crete, Gallos University Campus, 74100 Rethymno, Greece
| | - Stella G. Giakoumaki
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Crete, 74100 Rethymno, Greece
- University of Crete Research Center for the Humanities, The Social and Education Sciences (UCRC), University of Crete, Gallos University Campus, 74100 Rethymno, Greece
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21
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García-Pérez Á, González-Rodríguez A, Godoy-Giménez M, Sayans-Jiménez P, Cañadas F, Estévez ÁF. Mental rotation and schizotypal personality traits: A Bayesian approach. Scand J Psychol 2023; 64:113-122. [PMID: 36169211 DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
People diagnosed with schizophrenia exhibit mental rotation differences, suggesting that clinical levels of positive symptoms, such as psychotic hallucinations, are related to disruptions in their monitoring and manipulation of mental representations. According to the psychosis continuum, findings in people with a high level of schizotypal personality traits are expected to be qualitatively similar, but research concerning this topic is scarce. A spared mental imagery manipulation in this population only could suggest that this ability might be a possible protective factor, or that the emergence of clinical-level positive symptoms could be paired with disruptions in this capacity. To explore this issue, 205 undergraduate students (122 women) completed a novel mental rotation task identifying the stimulus that was a 90, 180, or 270° rotation of a black circle with colored portions and were assessed with the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. Men performed better in most conditions. No relationship was detected between schizotypal personality traits and accuracy in the task. These results do not support that mental imagery manipulation disruptions may be related to schizotypal personality traits in non-clinical populations. Thus, they might instead be associated with the onset of psychosis disorders as mental representation handling is hindered. However, additional research is required including the general population, as well as those with higher levels of psychotic symptoms and psychosis disorders. Future research could also focus on working memory processes related to mental representation manipulations of different sensory modalities such as auditory mental representations and their relationship with schizotypal personality traits and clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ángel García-Pérez
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, Almería, Spain
- CEINSA Health Research Center, University of Almeria, Almería, Spain
| | - Antonio González-Rodríguez
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, Almería, Spain
- CEINSA Health Research Center, University of Almeria, Almería, Spain
| | - Marta Godoy-Giménez
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, Almería, Spain
- CEINSA Health Research Center, University of Almeria, Almería, Spain
| | - Pablo Sayans-Jiménez
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, Almería, Spain
- CEINSA Health Research Center, University of Almeria, Almería, Spain
| | - Fernando Cañadas
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, Almería, Spain
- CEINSA Health Research Center, University of Almeria, Almería, Spain
| | - Ángeles F Estévez
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, Almería, Spain
- CEINSA Health Research Center, University of Almeria, Almería, Spain
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22
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Pfarr JK, Meller T, Evermann U, Sahakyan L, Kwapil TR, Nenadić I. Trait schizotypy and the psychosis prodrome: Current standard assessment of extended psychosis spectrum phenotypes. Schizophr Res 2023; 254:208-217. [PMID: 36933416 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2023.03.004] [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: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/20/2023]
Abstract
Schizotypy has become an increasingly important construct for elaborating psychotic disorders that vary along the schizophrenic spectrum. However, different schizotypy inventories vary in conceptual approach and measurement. In addition, commonly used schizotypy scales have been seen as qualitatively different from screening instruments for prodromal schizophrenia like the Prodromal Questionnaire-16 (PQ-16). Our study investigated the psychometric properties of three schizotypy questionnaires (the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief, Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences, and the Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale) as well as the PQ-16 in a cohort of 383 non-clinical subjects. We initially evaluated their factor structure using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and used Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to test a newly proposed composition of factors. PCA results support a three-factor structure of schizotypy that accounts for 71 % of the total variance, but also shows cross-loadings of some schizotypy subscales. CFA of the newly composed schizotypy factors (together with an added neuroticism factor) shows good fit. Analyses including the PQ-16 indicate considerable overlap with measures of trait schizotypy, suggesting that the PQ-16 might not be quantitatively or qualitatively different from schizotypy measurements. Taken together, results indicate that there is good support for a three-factor structure of schizotypy but also that different schizotypy measurements grasp facets of schizotypy differently. This points towards the need for an integrative approach for assessing the construct of schizotypy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia-Katharina Pfarr
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, University of Marburg, Germany.
| | - Tina Meller
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, University of Marburg, Germany
| | - Ulrika Evermann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, University of Marburg, Germany
| | - Lili Sahakyan
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States of America; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States of America
| | - Thomas R Kwapil
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States of America; Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, United States of America
| | - Igor Nenadić
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, University of Marburg, Germany
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23
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Vucurovic K, Raucher-Chéné D, Obert A, Gobin P, Henry A, Barrière S, Traykova M, Gierski F, Portefaix C, Caillies S, Kaladjian A. Activation of the left medial temporal gyrus and adjacent brain areas during affective theory of mind processing correlates with trait schizotypy in a nonclinical population. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:6701589. [PMID: 36107738 PMCID: PMC9949503 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia, a severe psychiatric disorder, is associated with abnormal brain activation during theory of mind (ToM) processing. Researchers recently suggested that there is a continuum running from subclinical schizotypal personality traits to fully expressed schizophrenia symptoms. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether schizotypal personality traits in a nonclinical population are associated with atypical brain activation during ToM tasks. Our aim was to investigate correlations between fMRI brain activation during affective ToM (ToMA) and cognitive ToM (ToMC) tasks and scores on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and the Basic Empathy Scale in 39 healthy individuals. The total SPQ score positively correlated with brain activation during ToMA processing in clusters extending from the left medial temporal gyrus (MTG), lingual gyrus and fusiform gyrus to the parahippocampal gyrus (Brodmann area: 19). During ToMA processing, the right inferior occipital gyrus, right MTG, precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex negatively correlated with the emotional disconnection subscore and the total score of self-reported empathy. These posterior brain regions are known to be involved in memory and language, as well as in creative reasoning, in nonclinical individuals. Our findings highlight changes in brain processing associated with trait schizotypy in nonclinical individuals during ToMA but not ToMC processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ksenija Vucurovic
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société, EA 6291, 51100 Reims, France.,Centre Rémois de Psychothérapie et Neuromodulation, 51100 Reims, France
| | - Delphine Raucher-Chéné
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société, EA 6291, 51100 Reims, France.,Pôle Universitaire de Psychiatrie, EPSM et CHU de Reims, 51100 Reims, France.,McGill University, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, 11290 Montreal, Canada
| | - Alexandre Obert
- Champollion National University Institute, Cognition Sciences, Technology & Ergonomics Laboratory, University of Toulouse, 81000 Albi, France
| | - Pamela Gobin
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société, EA 6291, 51100 Reims, France.,Pôle Universitaire de Psychiatrie, EPSM et CHU de Reims, 51100 Reims, France
| | - Audrey Henry
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société, EA 6291, 51100 Reims, France.,Pôle Universitaire de Psychiatrie, EPSM et CHU de Reims, 51100 Reims, France
| | - Sarah Barrière
- Pôle Universitaire de Psychiatrie, EPSM et CHU de Reims, 51100 Reims, France
| | - Martina Traykova
- Pôle Universitaire de Psychiatrie, EPSM et CHU de Reims, 51100 Reims, France
| | - Fabien Gierski
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société, EA 6291, 51100 Reims, France.,Pôle Universitaire de Psychiatrie, EPSM et CHU de Reims, 51100 Reims, France.,INSERM U1247 GRAP, Research Group on Alcohol and Drugs, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 80000 Amiens, France
| | - Christophe Portefaix
- Radiology Department, Reims University Hospital, 51100 Reims, France.,University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, CReSTIC Laboratory, 51100 Reims, France
| | - Stéphanie Caillies
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société, EA 6291, 51100 Reims, France
| | - Arthur Kaladjian
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société, EA 6291, 51100 Reims, France.,Pôle Universitaire de Psychiatrie, EPSM et CHU de Reims, 51100 Reims, France.,University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne Faculty of Medicine, 51100 Reims, France
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24
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Zouraraki C, Kyriklaki A, Economou E, Giakoumaki SG. The moderating role of early traumatic experiences on the association of schizotypal traits with visual perception. Scand J Psychol 2023; 64:10-20. [PMID: 35833570 DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
The findings on the association of schizotypal traits with the perception of visual illusions are scarce and inconsistent and have not taken into consideration potential effects of childhood traumatic experiences, a risk factor for schizophrenia-spectrum conditions. Thus, the present study addressed the question of potential moderating effects of early traumatic experiences on the association between different aspects of schizotypal traits with the perception of the Müller-Lyer and Navon's Hierarchical Letters (NHL) illusions. The study revealed that (a) increased suspiciousness was associated with increased liability to the Müller-Lyer illusion, when the exposure to traumatic events was high, whereas the opposite pattern was true when the exposure to traumatic events was low; (b) negative schizotypy was associated with more accurate global perception, and high disorganized schizotypy was associated with superior accuracy when target letters were present during the NHL illusion, when early traumatic experiences were at lower levels; and (c) high negative, disorganized, and total schizotypy were associated with lower accuracy when target letters were present in the NHL paradigm, when early traumatic experiences were at higher levels. The findings of the study suggest that early traumatic events differentially moderate the relationship between various aspects of schizotypal traits and visual perceptual processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chrysoula Zouraraki
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Crete, Rethymno, Crete, Greece.,University of Crete Research Center for the Humanities, The Social and Educational Sciences (UCRC), University of Crete, Rethymno, Crete, Greece
| | - Andriani Kyriklaki
- Department of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Elias Economou
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Crete, Rethymno, Crete, Greece
| | - Stella G Giakoumaki
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Crete, Rethymno, Crete, Greece.,University of Crete Research Center for the Humanities, The Social and Educational Sciences (UCRC), University of Crete, Rethymno, Crete, Greece
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25
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Zouraraki C, Karamaouna P, Giakoumaki SG. Facial emotion recognition and schizotypal traits: A systematic review of behavioural studies. Early Interv Psychiatry 2023; 17:121-140. [PMID: 35840128 DOI: 10.1111/eip.13328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Revised: 03/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
AIM Previous research has indicated that individuals expressing high schizotypal traits and patients with Schizotypal Personality Disorder (SPD), show deficits in facial emotion recognition, compared to low schizotypal or control groups. On the other hand, non-significant findings also exist and the association of facial emotion recognition deficits with the different schizotypal dimensions is not well defined, thus limiting any conclusive outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to further clarify this relationship. METHODS PsychInfo, Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed were systematically searched, and 23 papers with a cross-sectional design were selected. Nineteen studies examined individuals with high schizotypal traits and four studies evaluated SPD individuals with behavioural facial emotion recognition paradigms and self-report measures or clinical interviews for schizotypal traits. All selected studies were published between 1994 and August 2020. RESULTS According to the evidence of studies, high schizotypal individuals and SPD patients have poorer performance in facial emotion recognition tasks. Negative schizotypy was related to lower accuracy for positive and negative emotions and faster emotion labeling while positive schizotypy was associated with worse accuracy for positive, negative and neutral emotions and more biases. Disorganized schizotypy was associated with poorer accuracy for negative emotions and suspiciousness with higher accuracy for disgust faces but lower total accuracy. CONCLUSIONS These findings are consistent with the vulnerability for schizophrenia spectrum disorders and support the idea that emotion recognition deficits are trait markers for these conditions. Thus, the effectiveness of early-intervention programmes could increase by also targeting this class of deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chrysoula Zouraraki
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Crete, Rethymno, Greece
- University of Crete Research Center for the Humanities, The Social and Educational Sciences (UCRC), University of Crete, Rethymno, Greece
| | - Penny Karamaouna
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Crete, Rethymno, Greece
- University of Crete Research Center for the Humanities, The Social and Educational Sciences (UCRC), University of Crete, Rethymno, Greece
| | - Stella G Giakoumaki
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Crete, Rethymno, Greece
- University of Crete Research Center for the Humanities, The Social and Educational Sciences (UCRC), University of Crete, Rethymno, Greece
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26
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Sabaroedin K, Tiego J, Fornito A. Circuit-Based Approaches to Understanding Corticostriatothalamic Dysfunction Across the Psychosis Continuum. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 93:113-124. [PMID: 36253195 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Revised: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine is known to play a role in the pathogenesis of psychotic symptoms, but the mechanisms driving dopaminergic dysfunction in psychosis remain unclear. Considerable attention has focused on the role of corticostriatothalamic (CST) circuits, given that they regulate and are modulated by the activity of dopaminergic cells in the midbrain. Preclinical studies have proposed multiple models of CST dysfunction in psychosis, each prioritizing different brain regions and pathophysiological mechanisms. A particular challenge is that CST circuits have undergone considerable evolutionary modification across mammals, complicating comparisons across species. Here, we consider preclinical models of CST dysfunction in psychosis and evaluate the degree to which they are supported by evidence from human resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging studies conducted across the psychosis continuum, ranging from subclinical schizotypy to established schizophrenia. In partial support of some preclinical models, human studies indicate that dorsal CST and hippocampal-striatal functional dysconnectivity are apparent across the psychosis spectrum and may represent a vulnerability marker for psychosis. In contrast, midbrain dysfunction may emerge when symptoms warrant clinical assistance and may thus be a trigger for illness onset. The major difference between clinical and preclinical findings is the strong involvement of the dorsal CST in the former, consistent with an increasing prominence of this circuitry in the primate brain. We close by underscoring the need for high-resolution characterization of phenotypic heterogeneity in psychosis to develop a refined understanding of how the dysfunction of specific circuit elements gives rise to distinct symptom profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Sabaroedin
- Departments of Radiology and Paediatrics, Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
| | - Jeggan Tiego
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Alex Fornito
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
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27
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Messaritaki E, Foley S, Barawi K, Ettinger U, Jones DK. Increased structural connectivity in high schizotypy. Netw Neurosci 2023; 7:213-233. [PMID: 37334008 PMCID: PMC10270715 DOI: 10.1162/netn_a_00279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The link between brain structural connectivity and schizotypy was explored in two healthy participant cohorts, collected at two different neuroimaging centres, comprising 140 and 115 participants, respectively. The participants completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), through which their schizotypy scores were calculated. Diffusion-MRI data were used to perform tractography and to generate the structural brain networks of the participants. The edges of the networks were weighted with the inverse radial diffusivity. Graph theoretical metrics of the default mode, sensorimotor, visual, and auditory subnetworks were derived and their correlation coefficients with the schizotypy scores were calculated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that graph theoretical measures of structural brain networks are investigated in relation to schizotypy. A positive correlation was found between the schizotypy score and the mean node degree and mean clustering coefficient of the sensorimotor and the default mode subnetworks. The nodes driving these correlations were the right postcentral gyrus, the left paracentral lobule, the right superior frontal gyrus, the left parahippocampal gyrus, and the bilateral precuneus, that is, nodes that exhibit compromised functional connectivity in schizophrenia. Implications for schizophrenia and schizotypy are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eirini Messaritaki
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Sonya Foley
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Kali Barawi
- School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | | | - Derek K. Jones
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
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28
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Cheli S. An evolutionary look at oddity and schizotypy: How the rise of social brain informs clinical practice. NEW IDEAS IN PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.newideapsych.2022.100993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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29
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Chu RST, Tong CCHY, Wong CSM, Chang WC, Tang WCY, Chan CCL, Lui SSY, Hui LM, Suen YN, Chan KW, Lee HM, Chen EYH. Effort-based decision making in schizotypy and its relationship with amotivation and psychosocial functioning. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1123046. [PMID: 36873206 PMCID: PMC9978481 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1123046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Suboptimal effort-based decision-making with reduced willingness to expend effort for high-probability/high-value reward is observed in schizophrenia patients and is related to diminished motivation, but is understudied in schizotypy. This study aimed to examine effort-allocation in schizotypy individuals and its association with amotivation and psychosocial functioning. METHODS We recruited 40 schizotypy individuals and 40 demographically-matched healthy controls, based on Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B) score (top and bottom 10% SPQ-B scores, respectively), from 2400 young people aged 15-24 years participating a population-based mental health survey in Hong Kong and examined effort-allocation using the Effort Expenditure for Reward Task (EEfRT). Negative / amotivation symptoms and psychosocial functioning were assessed by the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) and the Social Functioning and Occupational Assessment Scale (SOFAS), respectively. Schizotypy individuals were categorized into high-amotivation and low-amotivation groups based on a median-split of BNSS amotivation domain score. RESULTS Our results showed no main group effect (in either two or three-group comparison) on effort task performance. Three-group comparison analyses on selected EEfRT performance indices revealed that high-amotivation schizotypy individuals displayed significantly less increase in effortful options from low-value to high-value reward (reward-difference score) and from low-probability/low-value to high-probability/high-value reward (probability/reward-difference score) than low-amotivation individuals and controls. Correlation analyses demonstrated trend-wise significance between BNSS amotivation domain score and several EEfRT performance indices in schizotypy group. Schizotypy individuals with poorer psychosocial functioning tended to exhibit smaller probability/reward-difference score relative to other two groups. DISCUSSION Our findings indicate subtle effort-allocation abnormalities in schizotypy individuals with high levels of diminished motivation, and suggest the link between laboratory-based effort-cost measures and real-world functional outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Sai Ting Chu
- Department of Psychiatry, LKS Faculty of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Co Co Ho Yi Tong
- Department of Psychiatry, LKS Faculty of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Corine Sau Man Wong
- LKS Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Wing Chung Chang
- Department of Psychiatry, LKS Faculty of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.,State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Wesley Chor Yin Tang
- Department of Psychiatry, LKS Faculty of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Charlotte Cheuk Lok Chan
- Department of Psychiatry, LKS Faculty of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Simon S Y Lui
- Department of Psychiatry, LKS Faculty of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Lai Ming Hui
- Department of Psychiatry, LKS Faculty of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yi Nam Suen
- Department of Psychiatry, LKS Faculty of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Kit Wa Chan
- Department of Psychiatry, LKS Faculty of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.,State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Ho Ming Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, LKS Faculty of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Eric Yu Hai Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, LKS Faculty of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.,State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
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The stress-vulnerability model on the path to schizophrenia: Interaction between BDNF methylation and schizotypy on the resting-state brain network. SCHIZOPHRENIA 2022; 8:49. [PMID: 35853898 PMCID: PMC9261098 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-022-00258-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The interplay between schizophrenia liability and environmental influences has been considered to be responsible for the development of schizophrenia. Recent neuroimaging studies have linked aberrant functional connectivity (FC) between the default-mode network (DMN) and the frontoparietal network (FPN) in the resting-state to the underlying neural mechanism of schizophrenia. By using schizotypy as the proxy for genetic-based liability to schizophrenia and methylation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to represent environmental exposure, this study investigated the impact of the interaction between vulnerability and the environment on the neurobiological substrates of schizophrenia. Participants in this study included 101 healthy adults (HC) and 46 individuals with ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR). All participants were tested at resting-state by functional magnetic resonance imaging, and group-independent component analysis was used to identify the DMN and the FPN. The Perceptual Aberration Scale (PAS) was used to evaluate the schizotypy level. The methylation status of BDNF was measured by pyrosequencing. For moderation analysis, the final sample consisted of 83 HC and 32 UHR individuals. UHR individuals showed reduced DMN-FPN network FC compared to healthy controls. PAS scores significantly moderated the relationship between the percentage of BDNF methylation and DMN-FPN network FC. The strength of the positive relationship between BDNF methylation and the network FC was reduced when the schizotypy level increased. These findings support the moderating role of schizotypy on the neurobiological mechanism of schizophrenia in conjunction with epigenetic changes.
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Body transfer illusions in the schizophrenia spectrum: a systematic review. SCHIZOPHRENIA 2022; 8:103. [PMID: 36424451 PMCID: PMC9691625 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-022-00314-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia has been viewed as a disorder of the self. Accordingly, the question arises if and how senses of ownership and agency are impaired in schizophrenia. To address this question, several body transfer illusions (BTIs) have been investigated in schizophrenia patients and other schizophrenia spectrum (SCZ-S) populations. The objective of the study was to systematically review the current evidence from BTIs in the SCZ-S. A systematic literature search in PubMed and CENTRAL (search date: February 12, 2022) was conducted on BTI studies carried out in SCZ-S populations. Studies were included if they were published in English after peer review, reported original research data, related to the SCZ-S, and used a BTI as its study method. Conference papers, study protocols, and reviews were excluded. For each included BTI study, various study characteristics and outcomes were retrieved, and a risk-of-bias score was calculated based on six study quality criteria. K = 40 studies were identified, of which k = 20 studies met the eligibility criteria. For BTI paradigms using visuotactile stimulation, most studies found elevated sense of ownership ratings in SCZ-S populations compared to healthy controls (HC). Implicit illusion measures (e.g., proprioceptive drift), in turn, did not generally indicate elevated embodiment levels in SCZ-S populations. Likewise, no consistent group differences emerged between SCZ-S populations and HC with respect to BTI paradigms using visuomotor stimulation. Furthermore, BTI vividness was found to correlate significantly with core symptoms of schizophrenia and various subclinical characteristics related to the SCZ-S. In line with the self-disturbance hypothesis, SCZ-S populations appear to be affected by aberrations in bodily self-awareness. Review registration: PROSPERO (identifier: CRD42022287960).
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Prospective memory performance and its improvement in individuals with high schizotypal traits: Evidence from eye-tracking studies. Clin Neurophysiol 2022; 143:133-142. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2022.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2022] [Revised: 08/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Miani A, Hills T, Bangerter A. Interconnectedness and (in)coherence as a signature of conspiracy worldviews. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabq3668. [PMID: 36288312 PMCID: PMC9604529 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq3668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Conspiracy theories may arise out of an overarching conspiracy worldview that identifies common elements of subterfuge across unrelated or even contradictory explanations, leading to networks of self-reinforcing beliefs. We test this conjecture by analyzing a large natural language database of conspiracy and nonconspiracy texts for the same events, thus linking theory-driven psychological research with data-driven computational approaches. We find that, relative to nonconspiracy texts, conspiracy texts are more interconnected, more topically heterogeneous, and more similar to one another, revealing lower cohesion within texts but higher cohesion between texts and providing strong empirical support for an overarching conspiracy worldview. Our results provide inroads for classification algorithms and further exploration into individual differences in belief structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Miani
- Institute of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Hills
- Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, University Road, Coventry CV47AL, UK
- The Alan Turing Institute, British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB, UK
| | - Adrian Bangerter
- Institute of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
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Chau AKC, So SH, Sun X, Zhu C, Chiu CD, Chan RCK, Leung PWL. A network analysis on the relationship between loneliness and schizotypy. J Affect Disord 2022; 311:148-156. [PMID: 35594977 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.05.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [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: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizotypy is a multidimensional personality trait related to the heightened risk for the development of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. While it has been suggested that loneliness may be associated with schizotypy in general, whether it relates to the specific schizotypal traits differentially remains unknown. Besides, as loneliness often co-occurs with depression and anxiety, it is important to delineate its relationship with schizotypy in consideration of these co-occurring emotional disturbances. METHODS A demographically diverse sample of young people was obtained from multiple sources. The validated sample consisted of 2089 participants (68.4% female, age range: 18-30). The structural relationship between loneliness and schizotypy was modelled using a network analytic approach. The Gaussian graphical model with loneliness and nine schizotypal traits as nodes was first estimated without, and then with adjustment for the levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Edges were estimated as unique associations between nodes. RESULTS 'Suspiciousness', 'odd beliefs or magical thinking', 'no close friends', 'constricted affect' and 'excessive social anxiety' were linked to loneliness directly. Loneliness was found to be more strongly associated with 'suspiciousness' and 'no close friends' than other schizotypal traits. After adjustment for the levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms, the above direct edges remained robust. LIMITATIONS The use of cross-sectional data indicated only undirected associations between variables. CONCLUSIONS Loneliness was more strongly linked to some schizotypal traits than others, with the relationships maintaining above and beyond the effects of anxiety and depression. These findings warrant further investigation of the specific relationships between loneliness and individual schizotypal traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anson Kai Chun Chau
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Suzanne H So
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
| | - Xiaoqi Sun
- Department of Psychology, Hunan Normal University, Hunan, China
| | - Chen Zhu
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Chui-De Chiu
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Raymond C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Patrick Wing-Leung Leung
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
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Grimmer HJ, Laukkonen RE, Freydenzon A, von Hippel W, Tangen JM. Thinking style and psychosis proneness do not predict false insights. Conscious Cogn 2022; 104:103384. [PMID: 35933801 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2022.103384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The FIAT paradigm (Grimmer et al., 2021) is a novel method of eliciting 'Aha' moments for incorrect solutions to anagrams in the laboratory, i.e. false insights. There exist many documented reports of psychotic symptoms accompanying strong feelings of 'Aha!' (Feyaerts, Henriksen, Vanheule, Myin-Germeys, & Sass, 2021; Mishara, 2010; Tulver, Kaup, Laukkonen, & Aru, 2021), suggesting that the newly developed FIAT could reveal whether people who have more false insights are more prone to psychosis and delusional belief. To test this possibility, we recruited 200 participants to take an adapted version of the FIAT and complete measures of thinking style and psychosis proneness. We found no association between experimentally induced false insights and measures of Schizotypy, Need for Cognition, Jumping to Conclusions, Aberrant Salience, Faith in Intuition, or the Cognitive Reflection Task. We conclude that experiencing false insights might not be constrained to any particular type of person, but rather, may arise for anyone under the right circumstances.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Anna Freydenzon
- Institute of Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Australia
| | | | - Jason M Tangen
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Australia
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Asimakidou E, Job X, Kilteni K. The positive dimension of schizotypy is associated with a reduced attenuation and precision of self-generated touch. SCHIZOPHRENIA (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) 2022; 8:57. [PMID: 35854009 PMCID: PMC9261081 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-022-00264-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The brain predicts the sensory consequences of our movements and uses these predictions to attenuate the perception of self-generated sensations. Accordingly, self-generated touch feels weaker than an externally generated touch of identical intensity. In schizophrenia, this somatosensory attenuation is substantially reduced, suggesting that patients with positive symptoms fail to accurately predict and process self-generated touch. If an impaired prediction underlies the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, then a similar impairment should exist in healthy nonclinical individuals with high positive schizotypal traits. One hundred healthy participants (53 female), assessed for schizotypal traits, underwent a well-established psychophysics force discrimination task to quantify how they perceived self-generated and externally generated touch. The perceived intensity of tactile stimuli delivered to their left index finger (magnitude) and the ability to discriminate the stimuli (precision) was measured. We observed that higher positive schizotypal traits were associated with reduced somatosensory attenuation and poorer somatosensory precision of self-generated touch, both when treating schizotypy as a continuous or categorical variable. These effects were specific to positive schizotypy and were not observed for the negative or disorganized dimensions of schizotypy. The results suggest that positive schizotypal traits are associated with a reduced ability to predict and process self-generated touch. Given that the positive dimension of schizotypy represents the analogue of positive psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia, deficits in processing self-generated tactile information could indicate increased liability to schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evridiki Asimakidou
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solnavägen 9, 17165, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Xavier Job
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solnavägen 9, 17165, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Konstantina Kilteni
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solnavägen 9, 17165, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Positive schizotypy is associated with amplified mnemonic discrimination and attenuated generalization. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2022; 273:447-458. [PMID: 35624200 PMCID: PMC10070292 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-022-01430-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Tendency to experience inaccurate beliefs alongside perceptual anomalies constitutes positive schizotypal traits in the general population and shows continuity with the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. It has been hypothesized that the positive symptomatology of schizophrenia, and by extension, the odd beliefs and unusual perceptual experiences in the general population, are associated with specific alterations in memory functions. An imbalance between memory generalization and episodic memory specificity has been proposed on several counts; however, the direction of the imbalance is currently unclear. Here, we evaluated the association between positive schizotypy, and memory alterations related to hippocampal computations in a general population sample enriched for positive schizotypy. We found that memory generalization is attenuated while memory specificity is elevated in participants with more pronounced positive schizotypal traits. Our findings show that people who are prone to irrational beliefs and unusual experiences also show measurable alterations in memory and likely have difficulty grasping the global picture and rather be overpowered by fragments of information.
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Brooks GA, Clark L. Gambling along the schizotypal spectrum: The associations between schizotypal personality, gambling-related cognitions, luck, and problem gambling. J Behav Addict 2022; 11. [PMID: 35594166 PMCID: PMC9295216 DOI: 10.1556/2006.2022.00021] [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: 11/22/2021] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective Schizotypal personality (schizotypy) is a cluster of traits in the general population, including alterations in belief formation that may underpin delusional thinking. The psychological processes described by schizotypy could also fuel cognitive distortions in the context of gambling. This study sought to characterize the relationships between schizotypy, gambling-related cognitive distortions, and levels of problem gambling. Methods Analyses were conducted on three groups, a student sample (n = 104) with minimal self-reported gambling involvement, a crowdsourced sample of regular gamblers (via MTurk; n = 277), and an additional crowdsourced sample with a range of gambling involvement (via MTurk; n = 144). Primary measures included the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire - Brief (SPQ-B), the Peters et al. Delusions Inventory (PDI-21), the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS), and the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). Luck was measured with either the Belief in Good Luck Scale (BIGLS) or the Beliefs Around Luck Scale (BALS). Results Small-to-moderate associations were detected between the components of schizotypy, including delusion proneness, and the gambling-related variables. Schizotypy was associated with the general belief in luck and bad luck, but not beliefs in good luck. A series of partial correlations demonstrated that when the GRCS was controlled for, the relationship between schizotypy and problem gambling was attenuated. Conclusions This study demonstrates that schizotypy is a small-to-moderate correlate of erroneous gambling beliefs and PG. These data help characterize clinical comorbidities between the schizotypal spectrum and problem gambling, and point to shared biases relating to belief formation and decision-making under chance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel A. Brooks
- Centre for Gambling Research, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Luke Clark
- Centre for Gambling Research, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Török E, Kéri S. The Relationship Among Mentalization, Mindfulness, Working Memory, and Schizotypal Personality Traits in the General Population. Front Psychol 2022; 13:682889. [PMID: 35586232 PMCID: PMC9108540 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.682889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals with high schizotypal traits are less able to observe, describe, and monitor inner feelings, thoughts, and experiences, commonly referred to as mindfulness and mentalization. High schizotypy is also associated with impaired working memory (WM). However, the relationship among mindfulness, mentalization, WM, and schizotypal traits is unknown. Three hundred individuals from the community (mean age: 38.0 years, SD = 10.5; 49.3% women) completed questionnaires examining schizotypal traits, mindfulness, and mentalization and performed working memory tasks. Results revealed that mentalization was a general predictor of schizotypal traits, including unusual experiences, cognitive disorganization, introverted anhedonia, and impulsive nonconformity, when the effect of mindfulness and working memory was controlled. We also found a positive correlation between mindfulness and mentalization. Low mindfulness and mentalization performances were associated with high schizotypy. However, poor working memory was only weakly linked to cognitive disorganization and introverted anhedonia. These findings suggest that weak mentalization is a core feature of schizotypy independent of mindfulness and working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edina Török
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Szabolcs Kéri
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
- Nyírő Gyula National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions, Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Physiology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
- *Correspondence: Szabolcs Kéri, ;
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Gaillard A, Tan EJ, Carruthers SP, Gurvich C, Hughes ME, Neill E, Sumner PJ, Van Rheenen TE, Rossell SL. No influence of sex on the relationship between schizotypy factors and executive control across the schizophrenia spectrum. J Psychiatr Res 2022; 148:325-331. [PMID: 35193036 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Revised: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Sex differences in symptoms and executive control across schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are consistently reported. Similarly, these findings of sex differences are also observed in schizotypy, that is, schizophrenia-like features occurring in healthy individuals in the absence of a clinical diagnosis. This study aimed to examine the relationships between performance on three major domains of executive control: performance monitoring, response inhibition, and cognitive set-shifting, and schizotypy factor scores in both SSD patients and healthy controls (HCs), and whether sex moderated any relationships observed. A total of 111 (67 males and 44 females) patients with SSD and 258 (129 males and 129 females) HCs were included in this study. Schizotypal personality traits (in both SSD and HC) was assessed using the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE). Executive control performance was assessed using seven tasks. Stepwise linear regressions revealed that performance on cognitive set-shifting tasks was significantly associated with the introvertive anhedonia, cognitive disorganisation, and unusual experiences subscales of the O-LIFE. When sex was examined as a moderator, it was not a significant moderator of any of the relationships between cognitive set-shifting tasks and schizotypy factors. The results suggest that independent of sex, cognitive set-shifting ability is associated to an increased vulnerability to schizotypal personality traits, although performance monitoring and response inhibition did not.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Gaillard
- Centre for Mental Health, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Neuroscience of Addiction and Mental Health Program, Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
| | - Eric J Tan
- Centre for Mental Health, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Mental Health, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Sean P Carruthers
- Centre for Mental Health, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Caroline Gurvich
- Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Central Clinical School, Monash University and the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Matthew E Hughes
- Centre for Mental Health, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Erica Neill
- Centre for Mental Health, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Central Clinical School, Monash University and the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Philip J Sumner
- Centre for Mental Health, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Tamsyn E Van Rheenen
- Centre for Mental Health, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, The University of Melbourne, Level 3, Alan Gilbert Building, 161 Barry St, Carlton, Victory, 3053, Australia
| | - Susan L Rossell
- Centre for Mental Health, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Central Clinical School, Monash University and the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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Wang YM, Cai XL, Zhang RT, Zhang YJ, Zhou HY, Wang Y, Wang Y, Huang J, Wang YY, Cheung EFC, Chan RCK. Altered brain structural and functional connectivity in schizotypy. Psychol Med 2022; 52:834-843. [PMID: 32677599 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291720002445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizotypy refers to schizophrenia-like traits below the clinical threshold in the general population. The pathological development of schizophrenia has been postulated to evolve from the initial coexistence of 'brain disconnection' and 'brain connectivity compensation' to 'brain connectivity decompensation'. METHODS In this study, we examined the brain connectivity changes associated with schizotypy by combining brain white matter structural connectivity, static and dynamic functional connectivity analysis of diffusion tensor imaging data and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data. A total of 87 participants with a high level of schizotypal traits and 122 control participants completed the experiment. Group differences in whole-brain white matter structural connectivity probability, static mean functional connectivity strength, dynamic functional connectivity variability and stability among 264 brain sub-regions of interests were investigated. RESULTS We found that individuals with high schizotypy exhibited increased structural connectivity probability within the task control network and within the default mode network; increased variability and decreased stability of functional connectivity within the default mode network and between the auditory network and the subcortical network; and decreased static mean functional connectivity strength mainly associated with the sensorimotor network, the default mode network and the task control network. CONCLUSIONS These findings highlight the specific changes in brain connectivity associated with schizotypy and indicate that both decompensatory and compensatory changes in structural connectivity within the default mode network and the task control network in the context of whole-brain functional disconnection may be an important neurobiological correlate in individuals with high schizotypy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong-Ming Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing100101, PR China
- Sino-Danish College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100190, PR China
- Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research, Beijing100190, PR China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Xin-Lu Cai
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing100101, PR China
- Sino-Danish College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100190, PR China
- Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research, Beijing100190, PR China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Rui-Ting Zhang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing100101, PR China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Yi-Jing Zhang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing100101, PR China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Han-Yu Zhou
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing100101, PR China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Yi Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing100101, PR China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Ya Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing100101, PR China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Jia Huang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing100101, PR China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Yan-Yu Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing100101, PR China
- Department of Psychology, Weifang Medical University, Shandong Province, PR China
| | - Eric F C Cheung
- Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, PR China
| | - Raymond C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing100101, PR China
- Sino-Danish College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100190, PR China
- Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research, Beijing100190, PR China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
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Hayne DP, Phillips W, Cosh SM, Price I. Examining personality trait patterns in transdiagnostic dimensions of psychopathology. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03028-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Co-occurrence of schizo-obsessive traits and its correlation with altered executive control network functional connectivity. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2022; 272:301-312. [PMID: 33389057 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-020-01222-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 12/12/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The prevalence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) in schizophrenia patients is as around 30%. Evidence suggested that mild OCS could reduce symptoms of schizophrenia, supporting the presence of compensatory functions. However, severe OCS could aggravate various impairments in schizophrenia patients, supporting the "double jeopardy hypothesis". Patients with schizo-obsessive comorbidity, schizophrenia patients and obsessive-compulsive disorder patients have been found to have similarities in executive dysfunctions and altered resting-state functional connectivity within the executive control network (ECN). Executive functions could be associated with the ECN. However, little is known as to whether such overlap exists in the subclinical populations of individuals with schizo-obsessive traits (SOT), schizotypal individuals and individuals with high levels of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS). In this study, we recruited 30 schizotypal individuals, 25 individuals with OCS, 29 individuals with SOT and 29 controls for a resting-state ECN-related functional connectivity (rsFC) and a go/shift/no-go task. We found that individuals with SOT exhibited increased rsFC within the ECN compared with controls, while schizotypal individuals exhibited the opposite. Individuals with OCS exhibited decreased rsFC within the ECN and between the ECN and the default mode network (DMN), relative to controls. No significant correlational results between altered rsFC related to the ECN with executive function performance were found after corrections for multiple comparisons in three subclinical groups. Our findings showed that individuals with SOT had increased rsFC within the ECN, while schizotypal individuals and individuals with OCS showed the opposite. Our findings provide evidence for possible neural substrates of subclinical comorbidity of OCS and schizotypy.
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Bohec AL, de Loye C, Baltazar M, Blanchet A, Rey R, Kostova M. N400 Peculiarities During Intentional Inferences Production in Subjects With Schizotypal Traits. J PSYCHOPHYSIOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1027/0269-8803/a000292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract. A deficit in context processing may underlie theory of mind (ToM) difficulties in schizophrenia, although few studies to date have explored the impact of contextual processing on ToM performances within the same task. We used electroencephalography to investigate the production of intentional inferences from highly versus weakly structured sentences in healthy participants with schizotypal traits. Thirty-four participants were divided into two groups according to their scores on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). The participants listened to stories that required a degree of understanding in order to produce an inference about the main character’s intention. Each story was followed by a target word that could either be highly predictable (HP), weakly predictable (WP), or incompatible with the context. The results indicate that the N400 component for WP targets was stronger in the high-SPQ group. This increase correlated with the negative dimension of schizotypy. This may reflect difficulties with generating intentional inferences when the context is insufficiently structured for high schizotypy participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Lise Bohec
- INSERM, U1028; CNRS, UMR5292; Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Psychiatric Disorders: From Resistance to Response Team, Lyon, France
- University Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Schizophrenia Expert Centre, Le Vinatier Hospital, Bron, France
- Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France
- Laboratoire de Psychopathologie et Neuropsychologie (EA2027) Université Paris 8, Saint-Denis, France
| | - Claire de Loye
- Laboratoire de Psychopathologie et Neuropsychologie (EA2027) Université Paris 8, Saint-Denis, France
| | - Matias Baltazar
- Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Pôle Pédopsychiatrie, Bron, France
| | - Alain Blanchet
- Laboratoire de Psychopathologie et Neuropsychologie (EA2027) Université Paris 8, Saint-Denis, France
| | - Romain Rey
- INSERM, U1028; CNRS, UMR5292; Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Psychiatric Disorders: From Resistance to Response Team, Lyon, France
- University Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Schizophrenia Expert Centre, Le Vinatier Hospital, Bron, France
- Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France
| | - Milena Kostova
- Laboratoire Paragraphe (UR 349) Université Paris 8, Saint-Denis, France
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Marsicano G, Cerpelloni F, Melcher D, Ronconi L. Lower multisensory temporal acuity in individuals with high schizotypal traits: a web-based study. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2782. [PMID: 35177673 PMCID: PMC8854550 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06503-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural events are often multisensory, requiring the brain to combine information from the same spatial location and timing, across different senses. The importance of temporal coincidence has led to the introduction of the temporal binding window (TBW) construct, defined as the time range within which multisensory inputs are highly likely to be perceptually bound into a single entity. Anomalies in TBWs have been linked to confused perceptual experiences and inaccurate filtering of sensory inputs coming from different environmental sources. Indeed, larger TBWs have been associated with disorders such as schizophrenia and autism and are also correlated to a higher level of subclinical traits of these conditions in the general population. Here, we tested the feasibility of using a web-based version of a classic audio-visual simultaneity judgment (SJ) task with simple flash-beep stimuli in order to measure multisensory temporal acuity and its relationship with schizotypal traits as measured in the general population. Results show that: (i) the response distribution obtained in the web-based SJ task was strongly similar to those reported by studies carried out in controlled laboratory settings, and (ii) lower multisensory temporal acuity was associated with higher schizotypal traits in the “cognitive-perceptual” domains. Our findings reveal the possibility of adequately using a web-based audio-visual SJ task outside a controlled laboratory setting, available to a more diverse and representative pool of participants. These results provide additional evidence for a close relationship between lower multisensory acuity and the expression of schizotypal traits in the general population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianluca Marsicano
- School of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Filippo Cerpelloni
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences and Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.,Laboratory of Biological Psychology, Department of Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuve, Leuven, Belgium.,Institute of Research in Psychology (IPSY) & Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS)-University of Louvain (UCLouvain), Leuven, Belgium
| | - David Melcher
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences and Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy. .,Psychology Program, Division of Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
| | - Luca Ronconi
- School of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
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Keidel K, Ettinger U, Murawski C, Polner B. The network structure of impulsive personality and temporal discounting. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN PERSONALITY 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2021.104166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Wang LL, Lui SSY, Chan RCK. The past and future of mapping the biomarkers of psychosis. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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Hills PJ, Vasilev MR, Ford P, Snell L, Whitworth E, Parsons T, Morisson R, Silveira A, Angele B. Sensory gating is related to positive and disorganised schizotypy in contrast to smooth pursuit eye movements and latent inhibition. Neuropsychologia 2021; 161:107989. [PMID: 34419489 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Since the characteristics and symptoms of both schizophrenia and schizotypy are manifested heterogeneously, it is possible that different endophenotypes and neurophysiological measures (sensory gating and smooth pursuit eye movement errors) represent different clusters of symptoms. Participants (N = 205) underwent a standard conditioned-pairing paradigm to establish their sensory gating ratio, a smooth-pursuit eye-movement task, a latent inhibition task, and completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. A Multidimensional Scaling analysis revealed that sensory gating was related to positive and disorganised dimensions of schizotypy. Latent inhibition and prepulse inhibition were not related to any dimension of schizotypy. Smooth pursuit eye movement error was unrelated to sensory gating and latent inhibition, but was related to negative dimensions of schizotypy. Our findings suggest that the symptom clusters associated with two main endophenotypes are largely independent. To fully understand symptomology and outcomes of schizotypal traits, the different subtypes of schizotypy (and potentially, schizophrenia) ought to be considered separately rather than together.
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Network analysis of cognitive deficit in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. SCHIZOPHRENIA RESEARCH-COGNITION 2021; 26:100213. [PMID: 34466392 PMCID: PMC8385201 DOI: 10.1016/j.scog.2021.100213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Background Cognitive impairments are found in 80% of patients with schizophrenia. The severity of these impairments significantly affects the recovery of patients in terms of social functioning. Network analysis is the most suitable approach for studying complex relationships among cognitive functions. Aim To build a network model of neurocognitive functions for identifying both the severity of impairments in individual functions and the vertices central to the whole model. Methods The study included 115 patients with schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorders and a comparison group, comprising 99 healthy subjects. The severity of clinical symptoms was assessed using the PANSS, CDSS and YMRS, and the SAS and BARS for extrapyramidal symptoms and akathisia. Subjects from the comparison group completed screening questionnaires QIDS-SR and PQ-16. Neurocognitive functions were assessed using the BACS. Results The patients performed worse than the healthy subjects on all tests. In the cognitive network models of healthy subjects, fewer connections were revealed and the central place was occupied by working memory, the functioning of which depends upon everyday functioning in the community. In the cognitive models of patients there was a greater connectedness of neurocognitive functions. Furthermore, the central place of the networks in patients is occupied by the processing speed, evaluated primarily using the Symbol Coding test, which reflects the dependence of patient activity on lower-order functions. Conclusion The processing speed deficit is key to schizophrenia and it may be considered a potential endophenotype of the disease.
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Schröder R, Baumert PM, Ettinger U. Replicability and reliability of the background and target velocity effects in smooth pursuit eye movements. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2021; 219:103364. [PMID: 34245980 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
When we follow a slowly moving target with our eyes, we perform smooth pursuit eye movements (SPEM). Previous investigations point to significantly and robustly reduced SPEM performance in the presence of a stationary background and at higher compared to lower target velocities. However, the reliability of these background and target velocity effects has not yet been investigated systematically. To address this issue, 45 healthy participants (17 m, 28 f) took part in two experimental sessions 7 days apart. In each session, participants were instructed to follow a horizontal SPEM target moving sinusoidally between ±7.89° at three different target velocities, corresponding to frequencies of 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 Hz. Each target velocity was presented once with and once without a stationary background, resulting in six blocks. The blocks were presented twice per session in order to additionally explore potential task length effects. To assess SPEM performance, velocity gain was calculated as the ratio of eye to target velocity. In line with previous research, detrimental background and target velocity effects were replicated robustly in both sessions with large effect sizes. Good to excellent test-retest reliabilities were obtained at higher target velocities and in the presence of a stationary background, whereas lower reliabilities occurred with slower targets and in the absence of background stimuli. Target velocity and background effects resulted in largely good to excellent reliabilities. These findings not only replicated robust experimental effects of background and target velocity at group level, but also revealed that these effects can be translated into reliable individual difference measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebekka Schröder
- Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, 53111 Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Ulrich Ettinger
- Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, 53111 Bonn, Germany.
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