Recovery of Decreased Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 Availability in Abstinent Alcohol-Dependent Patients.

Animal models of alcohol dependence and relapse demonstrate an important role of the glutamatergic system, in particular, cerebral metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5). F-3-fluoro-5-[(pyridin-3-yl)ethynyl]benzonitrile (F-FPEB) PET has revealed that chronic alcohol use leads to decreased limbic mGluR5 availability, which was associated with less craving. Here, we tested whether the state of decreased mGluR5 availability in alcohol-dependent patients normalizes during abstinence (at 2 and 6 mo of detoxification) and whether initial mGluR5 imaging parameters can predict individual relapse.

Early maladaptive schemas: Similarities and differences between female patients with eating versus substance use disorders.

Personality features are considered to be important factors in the pathogenesis of both eating disorder (ED) and substance use disorder (SUD). This study investigates similarities and differences between these early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) (a) between female patients with ED (N = 179) or SUD (N = 169) and (b) between ED subtypes of the restrictive (N = 52), bulimic type (N = 127), or SUD. In total, 348 female patients (M  = 29.

Lower Limbic Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 Availability in Alcohol Dependence.

Animal studies suggest an important role for the metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGlu5) in the pathophysiology of alcohol dependence, but direct human evidence is lacking. The goal of this study was to investigate cerebral mGlu5 availability in alcohol-dependent subjects versus controls using F-3-fluoro-5-[(pyridin-3-yl)ethynyl]benzonitrile (F-FPEB) PET. Dynamic 90-min F-FPEB scans combined with arterial blood sampling were acquired for 16 recently abstinent alcohol-dependent subjects and 32 age-matched controls.

Addiction specialist's role in liver transplantation procedures for alcoholic liver disease.

Although liver transplantation (LT) is performed increasingly for patients with end-stage alcoholic liver disease (ALD), the topic remains controversial. Traditionally, the role of an addiction specialist focused on the screening and identification of patients with a high risk on relapse in heavy alcohol use. These patients were in many cases subsequently excluded from a further LT procedure.

Age Neutrality of Categorically and Dimensionally Measured DSM-5 Section II Personality Disorder Symptoms.

Studies on the face validity of DSM-5 Section II categorical personality disorder (PD) symptoms indicate a bias against older adults. To extend these results, this article explores whether categorically and dimensionally scored PD symptoms of DSM-5 Section II, as measured in the Assessment of DSM-IV Personality Disorders (ADP-IV; Schotte & de Doncker, 1994), corroborate potential age bias across younger (aged 18-34), middle-aged (35-59 years), and older adults (aged 60-75). Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses, following a classical test theory approach, showed that 2 of the 79 symptoms were measured differently across 3 age groups when categorically assessed, and 4 when dimensionally measured.

Age neutrality of the young schema questionnaire in patients with a substance use disorder.

Background: Young's Schema Focused Therapy (SFT) is gaining popularity in the treatment of older adults. In the context of this therapy, the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) was developed to assess the early maladaptive schemas (EMS). EMS are considered to be relatively stable over time, but research shows that questionnaires often lack face validity in older adults, which makes it difficult to investigate EMS in older adults and their stability across the lifespan.

Changes in cerebral CB1 receptor availability after acute and chronic alcohol abuse and monitored abstinence.

Involvement of the type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1R) in the effects of alcohol on the brain is supported by animal experiments, but how in vivo CB1R levels are altered in alcoholic patients is still unclear. To assess the short-time effects of a binge drinking episode on CB1R availability, 20 healthy social drinkers underwent [(18)F]MK-9470-positron emission tomography (PET) at baseline and after intravenous ethanol administration (ALC ACU). Moreover, 26 alcoholic patients underwent sequential CB1R PET after chronic heavy drinking (ALC CHR) and after 1 month of abstinence (ALC ABST).

Oral glucose tolerance tests in treated patients with schizophrenia. Data to support an adaptation of the proposed guidelines for monitoring of patients on second generation antipsychotics?

Objective: A recent consensus conference has proposed guidelines for the monitoring for diabetes in patients with schizophrenia and also identifies the need of long-term prospective studies.

Method: A large scale prospective study on metabolic risks of antipsychotic medication is currently ongoing. At baseline, patients get a full laboratory screening, ECG and an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).

Attention to 3-D shape, 3-D motion, and texture in 3-D structure from motion displays.

We used fMRI to directly compare the neural substrates of three-dimensional (3-D) shape and motion processing for realistic textured objects rotating in depth. Subjects made judgments about several different attributes of these objects, including 3-D shape, the 3-D motion, and the scale of surface texture. For all of these tasks, we equated visual input, motor output, and task difficulty, and we controlled for differences in spatial attention.

The processing of visual shape in the cerebral cortex of human and nonhuman primates: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

We compared neural substrates of two-dimensional shape processing in human and nonhuman primates using functional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in awake subjects. The comparison of MR activity evoked by viewing intact and scrambled images of objects revealed shape-sensitive regions in occipital, temporal, and parietal cortex of both humans and macaques. Intraparietal cortex in monkeys was relatively more two-dimensional shape sensitive than that of humans.

Similarities and differences in motion processing between the human and macaque brain: evidence from fMRI.

The present report reviews a series of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activation studies conducted in parallel in awake monkeys and humans using the same motion stimuli in both species. These studies reveal that motion stimuli engage largely similar cortical regions in the two species. These common regions include MT/V5 and its satellites, of which FST contributes more to the human motion complex than is generally assumed in human imaging.