Hypo-metabolism of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex associated with working memory impairment in 18 cases of schizophrenia.

Working memory (Work-Mem), the capacity to hold and manipulate information, activates the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), especially its caudal subregion. Impaired Work-Mem and structural and functional abnormalities of the ACC are reported in schizophrenia. This study aims to elucidate the pathogenesis of Work-Mem dysfunction in schizophrenia by comparing metabolite concentrations across ACC subregions.

Assessing the heterogeneity of aggressive behavior traits: exploratory and confirmatory analyses of the reactive and instrumental aggression Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) scales.

The heterogeneity of violent behavior is often overlooked in risk assessment despite its importance in the management and treatment of psychiatric and forensic patients. In this study, items from the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) were first evaluated and rated by experts in terms of how well they assessed personality features associated with reactive and instrumental aggression. Exploratory principal component analyses (PCA) were then conducted on select items using a sample of psychiatric and forensic inpatients (n = 479) to examine the latent structure and construct validity of these reactive and instrumental aggression factors.

Olfaction and cognition in schizophrenia: sex matters.

Cognitive and olfactory deficits occur in schizophrenia, but little is known whether sex modifies these deficits. We examined the relationship between olfaction and cognition in 55 schizophrenia patients and 32 healthy controls. Patients and controls demonstrated significant differences performing cognitive tasks.

Olfactory acuity is associated with mood and function in a pilot study of stable bipolar disorder patients.

Objectives: Olfactory dysfunction is described in several neuropsychiatric disorders but there is little research on olfactory processing in bipolar disorder.

Methods: We assessed odor detection threshold (sensitivity) and smell identification test scores, along with symptoms, cognition, and social function in 20 DSM-IV bipolar disorder patients and 44 control subjects.

Results: The patient and control groups had similar demographic measures, intelligence, and mean olfaction scores, but significantly differed in social domains, including adjustment, function, and anxiety.

Olfactory processing, sex effects and heterogeneity in schizophrenia.

Introduction: Smell identification deficits are associated with negative symptoms in schizophrenia, particularly in males. Far less information is known about the relationship of odor detection sensitivity (acuity) and negative symptoms in schizophrenia, and currently there is a dearth in sex-stratified research specifically examining odor sensitivity and smell identification.

Methods: Fifty-eight individuals with schizophrenia and 42 healthy comparison subjects were assessed on tests of odor sensitivity, smell identification and cognition.

Multivoxel proton MR spectroscopy used to distinguish anterior cingulate metabolic abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia.

Purpose: To test the hypothesis that anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) subregions in patients with schizophrenia are metabolically different from those in healthy control subjects.

Materials And Methods: This institutional review board-approved study was HIPAA compliant, and all participants provided written informed consent. Twenty-two patients with schizophrenia (13 male, nine female; 39.

Avolition and expressive deficits capture negative symptom phenomenology: implications for DSM-5 and schizophrenia research.

The DSM-5 formulation presents an opportunity to refine the negative symptom assessments that are crucial for a schizophrenia diagnosis. This review traces the history of negative symptom constructs in neuropsychiatry from their earliest conceptualizations in the 19th century. It presents the relevant literature for distinguishing between different types of negative symptoms.

Childhood trauma and prodromal symptoms among individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis.

Introduction: Numerous studies point to an association between childhood trauma and the later development of psychotic illness. However, little is known about the prevalence of childhood trauma and its relationship to attenuated positive and other symptoms in individuals at heightened clinical risk for psychosis.

Method: Thirty clinical high-risk patients (83% male, 43% Caucasian, and with a mean age of 19) were ascertained from the New York metropolitan area and evaluated for prodromal and affective symptoms, and queried regarding experiences of childhood trauma and abuse.