Impairment of self-monitoring: part of the endophenotypic risk for psychosis.

Background: A disorder of self-monitoring may underlie the positive symptoms of psychosis. The cognitive mechanisms associated with these symptoms may also be detectable in individuals at risk of psychosis.

Aims: To investigate (a) whether patients with psychosis show impaired self-monitoring, (b) to what degree this is associated with positive symptoms, and (c) whether this is associated with liability to psychotic symptoms.

Evidence for a relationship between mentalising deficits and paranoia over the psychosis continuum.

Objective: Failing of mentalising has been suggested to underlie certain symptoms of psychosis. An as yet unresolved issue is whether mentalising deficits reflect a characteristic which can also be detected in people at risk for psychosis or people with evidence of subclinical expression of psychosis. This study wanted to assess an aspect of mentalising in four groups with different levels of psychosis vulnerability, and to examine associations between mentalising and symptoms of psychosis.

Verbal self-monitoring in psychosis: a non-replication.

Background: Current cognitive models of positive symptoms of psychosis suggest a mechanism of defective self-monitoring that may be relevant for (i) expression of psychosis at the clinical and subclinical level and (ii) transmission of risk for psychosis.

Method: The study included 41 patients with psychosis, 39 non-psychotic first-degree relatives, 39 subjects from the general population with a high level of positive psychotic experiences, and 52 healthy controls with an average level of positive psychotic experiences. All subjects performed a speech attribution task in which single adjectives with a complimentary or derogatory meaning were presented to them on a computer screen; subjects had to read aloud and determine the source (self/other/uncertain) of the words they heard.

Data gathering: biased in psychosis?

This study examined whether the probabilistic reasoning bias referred to as a "jumping-to-conclusions" (JTC) style of reasoning, which, according to previous research, is associated with particular psychotic symptoms such as delusions, represents a trait that can also be detected in nonpsychotic relatives of patients with schizophrenia and in nonpsychotic individuals with a high level of psychotic experiences. Participants were, in order of level of psychosis liability, 40 patients with schizophrenia or a schizoaffective disorder, 40 first-degree nonpsychotic relatives, 41 participants from the general population with above average expression of psychotic experiences, and 53 participants from the general population with an average level of psychotic experiences. A "jumping-to-conclusions" bias was assessed using the beads task.

Neuroticism and low self-esteem as risk factors for psychosis.

Background: Low self-esteem and high neuroticism are common features in psychosis, but in the absence of longitudinal studies it is unclear whether they represent consequences of the illness or risk factors acting before illness onset.

Methods: A population sample of 3,929 individuals with no lifetime evidence of psychosis were interviewed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and were administered the Groningen Neuroticism Scale and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale at baseline and 1 and 3 years later. At year 3, individuals with CIDI evidence of psychotic symptoms were interviewed by clinicians to identify incident psychotic or psychosis-like symptoms.