Multi-class classification model for psychiatric disorder discrimination.

Background: Physicians follow-up a symptom-based approach in the diagnosis of psychiatric diseases. According to this approach, a process based on internationally valid diagnostic tools such as The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or International Classification of Diseases (ICD), patient reports and the observation and experience of the physician is monitored. As in other fields of medicine, the search for biomarkers that can be used in processes related to diseases continues in psychiatry and various researches are carried out in this field.

Prediction of treatment resistance in obsessive compulsive disorder patients based on EEG complexity as a biomarker.

Objective: This study aimed to identify an Electroencephalography (EEG) complexity biomarker that could predict treatment resistance in Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients. Additionally, the statistical differences between EEG complexity values in treatment-resistant and treatment-responsive patients were determined. Moreover, the existence of correlations between EEG complexity and Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) score were evaluated.

Mapping adaptation, deviance detection, and prediction error in auditory processing.

Various studies have suggested that auditory deviance detection is organized in a hierarchical manner with ascending levels of complexity. Event-related potentials (ERP) are considered to reflect different cortical processing stages. In the current electroencephalographic study, we employed an auditory sequence oddball paradigm to investigate different levels of cortical auditory processing and the contribution of neuronal habituation and prediction error mechanism to N1 and Mismatch Negativity (MMN).

Binomial Logistic Regression and Artificial Neural Network Methods to Classify Opioid-Dependent Subjects and Control Group Using Quantitative EEG Power Measures.

Logistic regression (LR) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) are widely referred approaches in medical data classification studies. LR, a statistical fitting model, is suggested in medical problems because of its well-established methodology and coefficients contributing to the evaluation of clinical interpretations. ANNs are graphical models structured with node networks interconnected with arcs each of which is expressed in terms of weights discovered throughout the modeling process.

Assessing the relationship between attachment, parental attitude and plasma oxytocin in schizophrenia patients and their unaffected siblings.

Background: It is widely acknowledged that schizophrenia patients tend to have insecure attachment styles and improper parenting. However, the biological processes related to these adversities remain unclear and that the disturbance in oxytocin system is considered as one of the strongest predictors of such adversities.

Methods: Thirty-four patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected thirty-four healthy siblings were recruited for the study and they were compared with thirty-one healthy controls.

[The Effect of Theory of Mind Capacities of Mothers of Patients with Schizophrenia on the Severity of the Diseases].

Objective: Studies conducted with patients with schizophrenia and first-degree relatives show that, the pathology in theory of mind may be related to the risk of psychosis. The theory of mind capacities of the mothers may be effective in the prognosis of schizophrenia. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of theory of mind capacities of patient mothers on the severity of the disease.

Cortisol response to stress in schizophrenia: Associations with oxytocin, social support and social functioning.

Previous studies reported attenuated cortisol reactivity as one explanation for poor social functioning in schizophrenia. Recent research has demonstrated that both glucocorticoid and oxytocin systems are central to stress regulation. Here, we studied the associations between basal oxytocin, stress-induced cortisol levels, and social functioning and social support in schizophrenia.

The relationship between responsiveness to social and monetary rewards and ADHD symptoms.

Alterations in reward processing are frequently reported in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). One important factor affecting reward processing is the quality of reward as social and monetary rewards are processed by different neural networks. However, the effect of reward type on reward processing in ADHD has not been extensively studied.

Decreased functional connectivity in schizophrenia: The relationship between social functioning, social cognition and graph theoretical network measures.

Schizophrenia is a complex disorder in which abnormalities in brain connectivity and social functioning play a central role. The aim of this study is to explore small-world network properties, and understand their relationship with social functioning and social cognition in the context of schizophrenia, by testing functional connectivity differences in network properties and its relation to clinical behavioral measures. Resting-state fMRI time series data were acquired from 23 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and 23 healthy volunteers.

The developmental origins of metacognitive deficits in schizophrenia.

The deficits in metacognition have been observed in schizophrenia but developmental roots of impaired metacognition are not well understood. Accordingly, this study compared metacognitive abilities of patients with schizophrenia and healthy group and examined the relationship between childhood trauma, attachment style and caregiver attitudes with metacognitive capacity which might contribute to metacognitive deficits in patient group. 35 patients with schizophrenia and 35 healthy people were included in the study.

Alterations in event-related potential responses to empathy for pain in schizophrenia.

Lack of empathy is a critical factor impacting on social functioning and quality of life in schizophrenia. There is, however, a paucity of research into the underlying neurophysiological correlates of empathy deficits in this disorder. Accordingly, we sought: (1) to identify whether dysfunctional empathic abilities in schizophrenia are related to alterations in early or late brain processes, and (2) to explore the potential relationship between brain activity and mood, self-reported empathy and symptom severity.

Symptom Dimensions, Smoking and Impulsiveness in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has distinct symptom dimensions with possibly subtle differences in the underlying neurobiology. One behavioral habit, smoking, has been widely investigated in psychiatric disorders, though received less attention in OCD. Here, we aimed to investigate the relationship between symptom dimensions and smoking behavior in OCD.

Neuroanatomical correlates of genetic risk for bipolar disorder: A voxel-based morphometry study in bipolar type I patients and healthy first degree relatives.

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a highly heritable mental illness which is associated with neuroanatomical abnormalities. Investigating healthy individuals at high genetic risk for bipolar disorder may help to identify neuroanatomical markers of risk and resilience without the confounding effects of burden of illness or medication.

Methods: Structural magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired from 30 euthymic patients with BD-I (BP), 28 healthy first degree relatives of BD-I patients (HR), and 30 healthy controls (HC).

A wrapper-based approach for feature selection and classification of major depressive disorder-bipolar disorders.

Feature selection (FS) and classification are consecutive artificial intelligence (AI) methods used in data analysis, pattern classification, data mining and medical informatics. Beside promising studies in the application of AI methods to health informatics, working with more informative features is crucial in order to contribute to early diagnosis. Being one of the prevalent psychiatric disorders, depressive episodes of bipolar disorder (BD) is often misdiagnosed as major depressive disorder (MDD), leading to suboptimal therapy and poor outcomes.

Reward modulates the mirror neuron system in schizophrenia: A study into the mu rhythm suppression, empathy, and mental state attribution.

Impairments in the mirror neuron system (MNS) have been implicated as a possible underlying neurological basis for deficits in higher-level social cognition in schizophrenia. Previous work testing this hypothesis has used the electroencephalographic mu rhythm as an index of MNS activity, with studies showing mixed results. Here we investigated the role that reward plays in modulating the mu rhythm, and its association with empathy and emotional mental state reasoning.

EEG power, cordance and coherence differences between unipolar and bipolar depression.

Introduction: Understanding the biological underpinnings of unipolar (UD) and bipolar depression (BD) is vital for avoiding inappropriate treatment through the misdiagnosis of bipolar patients in their first depressive episode. One plausible way to distinguish between UD and BD is to compare EEG brain dynamics to identify potential neurophysiological biomarkers. Here we aimed to test group differences in EEG power, cordance and coherence values between UD and BD.

Oxidative stress in schizophrenia: a case-control study on the effects on social cognition and neurocognition.

Background: Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder that presents impairments in neurocognition and social cognition. Several studies have suggested that the etiology of schizophrenia can be partly explained by oxidative stress. However, our knowledge about the implications of oxidative stress on illness-related cognitive deficits is still far from being clear.

Social approach and avoidance behaviour for negative emotions is modulated by endogenous oxytocin and paranoia in schizophrenia.

Patients with schizophrenia suffer from dysfunctional social behaviour. Social approach and avoidance (AA) has been associated with motor responses, as the affective valence and gaze direction of facial stimuli can bias push and pull motor tendencies. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of endogenous oxytocin in social AA behaviour in schizophrenia.

Metacognition in psychosis: comparison of schizophrenia with bipolar disorder.

While deficits in metacognition have been observed in schizophrenia (SZ), it is less clear whether these are specific to the disorder. Accordingly, this study compared metacognitive abilities of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (BD) and examined the degree to which neurocognition contributed to metacognitive deficits in both groups. Participants were 30 patients with SZ and 30 with BD.

Oxidative stress markers, cognitive functions, and psychosocial functioning in bipolar disorder: an empirical cross-sectional study.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between oxidative stress markers and cognitive functions and domains of psychosocial functioning in bipolar disorder.

Methods: Oxidative stress markers, cognitive functions, and domains of psychosocial functioning were evaluated in 51 patients with bipolar disorder who were in remission. Correlation analyses between these parameters were calculated with data controlled for duration of illness and number of episodes.

Emotional contagion in mice: the role of familiarity.

Empathy is a complex emotional process that involves sharing an emotional state with another organism. The extent to which nonhuman animals are capable of empathizing with others is still far from clear, partly due to a lack of empirical work in this domain, but also due to definitional confusion of empathy with emotional contagion and other related terms. In this study, an observer mouse witnessed a familiar cagemate or an unfamiliar non-cagemate receiving electric foot shocks in an experiment that consisted of three periods: baseline (no shocks), test (shocks) and recovery (no shocks).

A closer look at the relationship between the subdomains of social functioning, social cognition and symptomatology in clinically stable patients with schizophrenia.

Impairments in social functioning commonly seen in schizophrenia are thought to be mediated by deficits in the domains of social cognition. Some previous research has explored how social cognitive skills and psychotic symptoms are associated with social functioning, however these associations are still under debate. The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between different domains of social cognition and psychotic symptomatology, and also to look at the relationships with individual subdomains of social functioning within a clinically stable schizophrenia population.

Oxytocin influences avoidant reactions to social threat in adults with borderline personality disorder.

Background: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by interpersonal dysfunction, emotional instability, impulsivity, and risk-taking behavior. Recent research has focused on the role of oxytocin in BPD, with mixed results as regards the processing of social stimuli.

Methods: In a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study, 13 BPD patients and 13 controls performed a dot probe task to examine attentional biases to happy and angry faces after intranasal application of oxytocin or placebo.

Empathy moderates the effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on costly punishment.

Humans incur considerable costs to punish unfairness directed towards themselves or others. Recent studies using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) suggest that the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is causally involved in such strategic decisions. Presently, two partly divergent hypotheses are discussed, suggesting either that the right DLPFC is necessary to control selfish motives by implementing culturally transmitted social norms, or is involved in suppressing emotion-driven prepotent responses to perceived unfairness.