Distinct neural correlates of accuracy and bias in the perception of facial emotion expressions.

We investigated neural correlates of Emotion Recognition Accuracy (ERA) using the Assessment of Contextualized Emotions (ACE). ACE infuses context by presenting emotion expressions in a naturalistic group setting and distinguishes between accurately perceiving intended emotions (signal), and bias due to perceiving additional, secondary emotions (noise). This social perception process is argued to induce perspective taking in addition to pattern matching in ERA.

Long Objective Sleep Duration is a Marker of Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults: Findings from the Cretan Aging Cohort.

 We examined associations between objective sleep duration and cognitive status in older adults initially categorized as cognitively non-impaired (CNI,  = 57) or diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI,  = 53). On follow-up, 8 years later, all participants underwent neuropsychiatric/neuropsychological evaluation and 7-day 24-h actigraphy. On re-assessment 62.

Spelling development of children with and without reading difficulties throughout elementary grades: evidence from the Greek orthography.

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the development of spelling in a large sample (N = 503, boys: N = 219) of Greek-speaking children with (N = 41) and without (N = 462) reading difficulties. Children were initially tested in Grades 2-4 and then at five consecutive measurement points over a 3-year period, focusing on how initial reading ability, grade, and gender may moderate the rate of spelling growth. Individual growth curve modeling revealed continuous growth of spelling performance in the total sample, although the growth rate decreased over time for children first tested in Grades 3-4.

Prospective Associations Between Personality Traits and Major Depressive Disorder Symptom Severity: The Mediating Role of Illness Representations.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) patients' personality traits and illness representations are linked to MDD severity. However, the associations between personality and illness representations in MDD and the mediating role of illness representations between personality and MDD severity have not been investigated. This study aimed to prospectively investigate the aforementioned associations and the possible mediating role of illness representations between personality and MDD severity.

Remarkable Recovery After Severe Gunshot Brain Injury: A Comprehensive Case Study of Functional Rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND Penetrating traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by gunshots is a rare type of TBI that leads to poor outcomes and high mortality rates. Conducting a formal neuropsychological evaluation concerning a patient's neurologic status during the chronic recovery phase can be challenging. Furthermore, the clinical assessment of survivors of penetrating TBI has not been adequately documented in the available literature.

Functional connectivity-hemodynamic (un)coupling changes in chronic mild brain injury are associated with mental health and neurocognitive indices: a resting state fMRI study.

Purpose: To examine hemodynamic and functional connectivity alterations and their association with neurocognitive and mental health indices in patients with chronic mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Methods: Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) and neuropsychological assessment of 37 patients with chronic mTBI were performed. Intrinsic connectivity contrast (ICC) and time-shift analysis (TSA) of the rs-fMRI data allowed the assessment of regional hemodynamic and functional connectivity disturbances and their coupling (or uncoupling).

Impact of long-acting injectable antipsychotics vs. oral medication on relapses of patients with psychosis and bipolar disorder.

Relapse associated with multiple hospital readmissions of patients with chronic and severe mental disorders, such as psychosis and bipolar disorder, is frequently associated with non-adherence to treatment. The primary aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of long-acting injectable (LAI) treatment, vs. oral medication in reducing readmissions of patients with psychotic or bipolar disorder in a community sample of 164 patients with psychosis and 29 patients with bipolar disorder (n = 193), with poor adherence to oral medication.

Efficacy οf Wet Age-related Macular Degeneration Treatment οn Reading: A Pilot Study Using Eye-movement Analysis.

Significance: Functional vision, as evaluated with silent passage reading speed, improves after anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment in patients with wet age-related macular antidegeneration (wAMD), reflecting primarily a concomitant reduction in the number of fixations. Implementing eye movement analysis when reading may better characterize the effectiveness of therapeutic approaches in wAMD.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate silent reading performance by means of eye fixation analysis before and after anti-VEGF treatment in wAMD patients.

Long-term associations between objective sleep quality and quantity and verbal memory performance in normal cognition and mild cognitive impairment.

Introduction: Although the link between sleep and memory function is well established, associations between sleep macrostructure and memory function in normal cognition and Mild Cognitive Impairment remain unclear. We aimed to investigate the longitudinal associations of baseline objectively assessed sleep quality and duration, as well as time in bed, with verbal memory capacity over a 7-9 year period. Participants are a well-characterized subsample of 148 persons (mean age at baseline: 72.

Well-being trajectories in breast cancer and their predictors: A machine-learning approach.

Objective: This study aimed to describe distinct trajectories of anxiety/depression symptoms and overall health status/quality of life over a period of 18 months following a breast cancer diagnosis, and identify the medical, socio-demographic, lifestyle, and psychological factors that predict these trajectories.

Methods: 474 females (mean age = 55.79 years) were enrolled in the first weeks after surgery or biopsy.

Inflammation biomarkers IL‑6 and IL‑10 may improve the diagnostic and prognostic accuracy of currently authorized traumatic brain injury tools.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is currently one of the leading causes of mortality and disability worldwide. At present, no reliable inflammatory or specific molecular neurobiomarker exists in any of the standard models proposed for TBI classification or prognostication. Therefore, the present study was designed to assess the value of a group of inflammatory mediators for evaluating acute TBI, in combination with clinical, laboratory and radiological indices and prognostic clinical scales.

Personalized prediction of one-year mental health deterioration using adaptive learning algorithms: a multicenter breast cancer prospective study.

Identifying individual patient characteristics that contribute to long-term mental health deterioration following diagnosis of breast cancer (BC) is critical in clinical practice. The present study employed a supervised machine learning pipeline to address this issue in a subset of data from a prospective, multinational cohort of women diagnosed with stage I-III BC with a curative treatment intention. Patients were classified as displaying stable HADS scores (Stable Group; n = 328) or reporting a significant increase in symptomatology between BC diagnosis and 12 months later (Deteriorated Group; n = 50).

IL-6 Enhances the Negative Impact of Cortisol on Cognition among Community-Dwelling Older People without Dementia.

There is growing evidence that high basal cortisol levels and systemic inflammation independently contribute to cognitive decline among older people without dementia. The present cross-sectional study examined (a) the potential synergistic effect of cortisol levels and systemic inflammation on executive function and (b) whether this effect is more prominent among older people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A sub-sample of 99 patients with MCI and 84 older people without cognitive impairment (CNI) (aged 73.

Trajectories of Quality of Life among an International Sample of Women during the First Year after the Diagnosis of Early Breast Cancer: A Latent Growth Curve Analysis.

The current study aimed to track the trajectory of quality of life (QoL) among subgroups of women with breast cancer in the first 12 months post-diagnosis. We also aimed to assess the number and portion of women classified into each distinct trajectory and the sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors associated with these trajectories. The international sample included 699 participants who were recruited soon after being diagnosed with breast cancer as part of the BOUNCE Project.

Cretan Aging Cohort-Phase III: Methodology and Descriptive Characteristics of a Long-Term Longitudinal Study on Predictors of Cognitive Decline in Non-Demented Elderly from Crete, Greece.

Identifying modifiable factors that may predict long-term cognitive decline in the elderly with adequate daily functionality is critical. Such factors may include poor sleep quality and quantity, sleep-related breathing disorders, inflammatory cytokines and stress hormones, as well as mental health problems. This work reports the methodology and descriptive characteristics of a long-term, multidisciplinary study on modifiable risk factors for cognitive status progression, focusing on the 7-year follow-up.

Associations between Physical Exercise, Quality of Life, Psychological Symptoms and Treatment Side Effects in Early Breast Cancer.

Background: Identifying and understanding modifiable factors for the well-being of cancer patients is critical in survivorship research. We studied variables associated with the exercise habits of breast cancer patients and investigated if the achievement of exercise recommendations was associated with enhanced quality of life and/or psychological well-being. .

Study of Alzheimer's disease- and frontotemporal dementia-associated genes in the Cretan Aging Cohort.

Using exome sequencing, we analyzed 196 participants of the Cretan Aging Cohort (CAC; 95 with Alzheimer's disease [AD], 20 with mild cognitive impairment [MCI], and 81 cognitively normal controls). The APOE ε4 allele was more common in AD patients (23.2%) than in controls (7.

Trajectories and Predictors of Depression After Breast Cancer Diagnosis: A 1-year longitudinal study.

Being diagnosed with breast cancer (BC) can be a traumatic experience for patients who may experience symptoms of depression. In order to facilitate the prevention of such symptoms, it is crucial to understand how and why depressive symptoms emerge and evolve for each individual, from diagnosis through treatment and recovery. In the present work, data from a multicentric study of 706 BC patients followed for 12 months are analyzed.

Psychological and somatic symptoms among breast cancer patients in four European countries: A cross-lagged panel model.

Psychological and physical health among women with breast cancer are linked. However, more research is needed to test the interrelations between psychological and somatic symptoms, over time and throughout the different phases of breast cancer treatment, to determine when and which interventions should be prioritized. Six hundred and eighty nine women from four countries (Finland, Israel, Italy and Portugal) completed questionnaires during their first clinical consultation following diagnosis with breast cancer, and again after 3 and 6 months.

Brief Solution Focused Therapy on schizophrenia: A preliminary study of family characteristics and psychopathology.

Family therapy for schizophrenia has been demonstrated to be effective and is recommended by international clinical guidelines. Reviews of family therapy research conclude that interventions may prevent relapse of the disease, when symptoms are already reduced under psychotropic medication, by reducing family factors associated with relapse. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of Brief Solution Focused therapy (BSFT) in patients with schizophrenia focusing on the impact of change in family characteristics such as cohesion, conflict, organization and control on patients' psychopathology measured with BPRS.

Nonparaneoplastic Anti-GAD Limbic Encephalitis: Seizure Outcome and Long-term Neuropsychological Follow-up After Immunotherapy.

Antibodies against glutamate decarboxylase (GAD-Abs), especially GAD65 antibodies, are associated with limbic encephalitis (LE) manifested by temporal lobe epilepsy and neuropsychological deficits. We present the case of a 42-year-old Greek woman with nonparaneoplastic anti-GAD LE, discussing the therapeutic management and highlighting the role of neuropsychological assessment. The patient underwent functional and structural brain studies and was investigated longitudinally over a 6-year period with a battery of neuropsychological tests that were designed to document her intellectual function and verbal and visual memory.

Interactions of Mediterranean Diet, Obesity, Polypharmacy, Depression and Systemic Inflammation with Frailty Status.

Comprehensive characterization of potential frailty determinants, including sociodemographic, clinical, dietary, psychological, cognitive and systemic inflammation parameters. A rural cohort of 186 subjects aged 60-89 years recruited from a community-based study in Crete, Greece (the Cretan Aging Cohort). Frailty was assessed with the Simple "Frail" Questionnaire Screening Tool.

Multisubject Task-Related fMRI Data Processing via a Two-Stage Generalized Canonical Correlation Analysis.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is one of the most popular methods for studying the human brain. Task-related fMRI data processing aims to determine which brain areas are activated when a specific task is performed and is usually based on the Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signal. The background BOLD signal also reflects systematic fluctuations in regional brain activity which are attributed to the existence of resting-state brain networks.

Basal Cortisol Levels Are Increased in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Role of Insomnia and Short Sleep Duration.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is frequent in elderly and a risk factor for dementia. Both insomnia and increased cortisol levels are risk factors for MCI.

Objective: We examined cross-sectionally whether increased cortisol levels are associated with short sleep duration (SSD) and/or the insomnia short sleep duration (ISS) phenotype, in elderly with MCI.

Preserved visuospatial abilities in absence of the right hemisphere: A case of cerebral hemiatrophy with minimal cognitive impairment.

Cerebral hemiatrophy is a rare neurological condition, usually resulting in severe and diffuse cognitive impairment. In this paper we present a 69-year old woman with notable congenital hemiatrophy with strikingly preserved cognitive functions. Cognitive assessment indicated that although her executive functions were found impaired, the remaining cognitive domains were relatively unaffected.