Attentional processing biases to threat in schizophrenia: Evidence from a free-viewing task with emotional scenes.

Attentional biases to threatening stimuli have been suggested to play a key role in the onset and course of schizophrenia. However, current research has not completely demonstrated this assumption. The aim of this eye-tracking study was to shed light on the underlying psychological mechanisms of schizophrenia by examining the attentional processing of socio-emotional information.

Manipulating feedback on schizophrenia: Evidence from a Posner task.

Individuals with schizophrenia show difficulties in achieving vital objectives. Abnormal behavioral and emotional responses to environmental feedback may be some of the psychological mechanisms underlying this lack of goal attainment in schizophrenia. The present study aims to assess how different types of feedback may affect performance in a computerized affective Posner task (non-monetary vs.

Jumping to conclusions in autism: integration of contextual information and confidence in decision-making processes.

Individuals with Autism spectrum condition (ASC) present cognitive biases and a difficulty to integrate emotional responses in decision-making, which is necessary for adequate social functioning. Thus, understanding the underlying mechanisms of the altered decision-making in individuals with ASC may eventually have a positive impact on their social functioning. The Picture decision task was employed to observe the effect of new information (fragments of an incomplete picture), interpretative context (verbal cues), and the level of confidence on decision-making processes.

Trajectories of stress biomarkers and anxious-depressive symptoms from pregnancy to postpartum period in women with a trauma history.

: Cross-sectional studies have found that a trauma history can be associated with anxious-depressive symptomatology and physiological stress dysregulation in pregnant women. : This prospective study examines the trajectories of both anxiety and depressive symptoms and salivary cortisol and α-amylase biomarkers from women with ( = 42) and without ( = 59) a trauma history at (i) 38th week of gestation (T1), (ii) 48 hours after birth (T2), and (iii) three months after birth (T3). : The quantile regression model showed that trauma history was associated with higher cortisol levels at T1 and this difference was sustained along T2 and T3.