RISK aversion in Italian forensic and non-forensic patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Background: Goal-directed decision-making is a central component of the broader reward and motivation system, and requires the ability to dynamically integrate both positive and negative feedback from the environment in order to maximize rewards and minimize losses over time. Altered decision-making processes, in which individuals fail to consider the negative consequences of their decisions on both themselves and others, may play a role in driving antisocial behaviour.

Aim: The main study aim was to investigate possible differences in loss and risk aversion across matched patients, all with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD), but who varied according to whether they had a history of serious interpersonal violence or not, and a sample of healthy controls with no history of violence.

Metacognitive interpersonal therapy in borderline personality disorder: Clinical and neuroimaging outcomes from the CLIMAMITHE study-A randomized clinical trial.

Different psychotherapeutic approaches demonstrated their efficacy but the possible neurobiological mechanism underlying the effect of psychotherapy in borderline personality disorder (BPD) patients is poorly investigated. We assessed the effects of metacognitive interpersonal therapy (MIT) on BPD features and other dimensions compared to structured clinical management (SCM). We also assessed changes in amygdala activation by viewing emotional pictures after psychotherapy.

Positive and negative syndrome scale in forensic patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Among forensic patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, the association between symptomatology and violence is still not entirely clear in literature, especially because symptoms shift both during the acute phase of the illness and after. The aims were to investigate the level of symptomatology in forensic patients and to evaluate if there are differences in the level of symptoms between forensic and non-forensic patients. According to PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, and ProQuest, using the following key words: "forensic" AND "Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale" OR "PANSS".

Treatment Decision-Making Capacity in Forensic vs Non-forensic Psychiatric Patients: A European Comparison.

Background: Consent to treatment is a cornerstone of medical ethics and law. Nevertheless, very little empirical evidence is available to inform clinicians and policymakers regarding the capacities of forensic patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) to make decisions about their treatment, with the risk of clinical and legal inertia, silent coercion, stigmatization, or ill-conceived reforms.

Study Design: In this multinational study, we assessed and compared with treatment-related decisional capacities in forensic and non-forensic patients with SSD.

Emotional Regulation in Teens and Improvement of Constructive Skills (EmoTIConS): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Emotional dysregulation (ED) constitutes a relevant factor involved in the onset and maintenance of many mental disorders. Targeting ED during adolescence could be a determinant both to identify high-risk individuals and to promote preventive interventions. This study will aim to evaluate the impact of a brief Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)-based intervention for adolescent students by measuring changes in emotional regulation skills and impulsive behaviors.

Neurocognition and social cognition in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders with and without a history of violence: results of a multinational European study.

Objective: Neurocognitive impairment has been extensively studied in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and seems to be one of the major determinants of functional outcome in this clinical population. Data exploring the link between neuropsychological deficits and the risk of violence in schizophrenia has been more inconsistent. In this study, we analyse the differential predictive potential of neurocognition and social cognition to discriminate patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders with and without a history of severe violence.

A multinational case-control study comparing forensic and non-forensic patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: the EU-VIORMED project.

Background: The relationship between schizophrenia and violence is complex. The aim of this multicentre case-control study was to examine and compare the characteristics of a group of forensic psychiatric patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorders and a history of significant interpersonal violence to a group of patients with the same diagnosis but no lifetime history of interpersonal violence.

Method: Overall, 398 patients (221 forensic and 177 non-forensic patients) were recruited across five European Countries (Italy, Germany, Poland, Austria and the United Kingdom) and assessed using a multidimensional standardised process.

Maladaptive behaviours in adolescence and their associations with personality traits, emotion dysregulation and other clinical features in a sample of Italian students: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Emotion Dysregulation (ED), childhood trauma and personality are linked to the occurrence of maladaptive behaviours in adolescence which, in turn, may be related to increased risk for psychopathology in the life course. We sought to explore the relationship among the occurrence of different clusters of maladaptive behaviours and ED, clinical features (i.e.

Effectiveness of an Innovative Cognitive Treatment and Telerehabilitation on Subjects With Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Multicenter, Randomized, Active-Controlled Study.

Background: In recent years, the potential usefulness of cognitive training procedures in normal aging and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have received increased attention.

Objective: The main aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the face-to-face cognitive virtual reality rehabilitation system (VRRS) and to compare it to that of face-to-face cognitive treatment as usual for individuals with MCI. Moreover, we assessed the possibility of prolonging the effects of treatment with a telerehabilitation system.

Substance use disorders and violent behaviour in patients with severe mental disorders: A prospective, multicentre study.

Objective: The relationship between alcohol and substance use and the risk of violence exhibited by patients with mental disorders is under-researched. This prospective cohort study aims to compare patients with severe mental disorders and with different substance use behaviors in terms of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, hostility, impulsivity and aggressive behaviors. Furthermore, this study aims to assess differences in violent behaviors during a 1-year monitoring follow-up.

Aggressive behavior and metacognitive functions: a longitudinal study on patients with mental disorders.

Background: Metacognitive functions play a key role in understanding which psychological variables underlying the personality might lead a person with a severe mental disorder to commit violent acts against others. The aims of this study were to: (a) investigate the differences between patients with poor metacognitive functioning (PM group) and patients with good metacognitive functioning (GM group) in relation to a history of violence; (b) investigate the differences between the two groups in relation to aggressive behavior during a 1-year follow-up; and (c) analyze the predictors of aggressive behavior.

Methods: In a prospective cohort study, patients with severe mental disorders with and without a lifetime history of serious violence were assessed with a large set of standardized instruments and were evaluated bi-monthly with MOAS in order to monitor any aggressive behavior.

DAily time use, Physical Activity, quality of care and interpersonal relationships in patients with Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (DiAPASon): an Italian multicentre study.

Background: Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are ranked among the leading causes of disabilities worldwide. Many people with SSD spend most of their daily time being inactive, and this is related to the severity of negative symptoms. Here, we present the 3-year DiAPAson project aimed at (1) evaluating the daily time use among patients with SSD living in Residential Facilities (RFs) compared to outpatients with SSD and to the general population (Study 1); (2) evaluating the quality of staff-patient relationships, its association with specific patient outcomes and the quality of care provided in RFs (Study 2); and (3) assessing daily activity patterns in residential patients, outpatients with SSD and healthy controls using real-time methodologies (Study 3).

Neuropsychological features in patients with severe mental disorders and risk of violence: A prospective multicenter study in Italy.

In Severe Mental Disorders (SMDs) the most important cognitive deficits involve the Executive Functions (EFs). In this study we examined the association between EFs and aggressive behaviour in outpatients with SMDs. We included a total of 247 outpatients divided into two groups: 'cases', patients with a history of violence (N=126) and 'non-violent' (N=121).

Publisher Correction: Self-harm behaviour and externally-directed aggression in psychiatric outpatients: a multicentre, prospective study (viormed-2 study).

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Effectiveness of language training and non-invasive brain stimulation on oral and written naming performance in Primary Progressive Aphasia: A meta-analysis and systematic review.

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to examine the efficacy of language training, alone or in combination with non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, designed to improve oral and written naming abilities in Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA), and to investigate whether gains can be maintained over time and generalize to untrained items. An electronic database search was conducted up to 31 of May 2019. Forty-three articles on language training alone and seven articles on the combined treatment fitted the inclusion criteria for the systematic review.

Self-harm behaviour and externally-directed aggression In psychiatric outpatients: a multicentre, prospective study (viormed-2 study).

The aim of the project was to investigate differences between outpatients with Severe Mental Disorders (SMDs) with and without a history of Self-Harm behaviour (SHb) and/or Violent behaviour against other people (Vb) in relation to: (a) socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, (b) violent behaviour during a 1-year FU, (c) predictors of SHb and Vb during the FU. Outpatients with SMDs, with and without a history of Vb were enrolled. They were divided in four groups: patients with lifetime Vb (V), patients with both Vb and SHb (V-SH), patients with only SHb (SH) and patients with no history of SHb and Vb (control group, CONT).

Personality, Schizophrenia, and Violence: A Longitudinal Study: The Second Wave of the VIORMED Project.

This study investigated the association between maladaptive personality traits, personality disorders (PDs), schizophrenia, and the risk of aggressive behavior. Ninety-four patients with a history of violence and 92 patients with no history of violence underwent a multidimensional baseline assessment. Aggressive behavior was monitored during a 1-year follow-up through the Modified Overt Aggression Scale.

Effects of education and social contact on mental health-related stigma among high-school students.

Poor knowledge and stigma toward people with mental illness negatively affect intentions to seek help among adolescents. The study aimed to assess the impact of three school-based interventions and to explore whether positive changes in attitudes were linked to more favorable changes in desire for social distance and seeking help. A total of 221 upper secondary students were allocated to three interventions: 1.

Violence risk and mental disorders (VIORMED-2): A prospective multicenter study in Italy.

Background: The management of mentally ill offenders in the community is one of the great challenges imposed on community psychiatry.

Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze the association between sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors and violent behavior in a sample of outpatients with severe mental disorders.

Method: This was a prospective cohort study with a baseline cross-sectional design used to provide a detailed analysis of patients' profiles, followed by a longitudinal design to measure aggressive and violent behavior during a 1-year follow-up.

Biomarker Matrix to Track Short Term Disease Progression in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment Patients with Prodromal Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Assessment of human brain atrophy in temporal regions using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), resting state functional MRI connectivity in the left parietal cortex, and limbic electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms as well as plasma amyloid peptide 42 (Aβ42) has shown that each is a promising biomarker of disease progression in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients with prodromal Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the value of their combined use is unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the association with cognitive decline and the effect on sample size calculation when using a biomarker composite matrix in prodromal AD clinical trials.