Childhood trauma is associated with altered white matter microstructural organization in schizophrenia.

It has been reported that childhood trauma (CT) is associated with reductions in fractional anisotropy (FA) in individuals with schizophrenia (SZ). Here, we hypothesized that SZ with high levels of CT will show the greatest reductions in FA in frontolimbic and frontoparietal regions compared to healthy controls (HC) with high trauma levels and participants with no/low levels of CT. Thirty-seven SZ and 129 HC with CT experience were dichotomized into groups of 'none/low' or 'high' levels.

Interleukin 6 predicts increased neural response during face processing in a sample of individuals with schizophrenia and healthy participants: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Background: Deficits in facial emotion recognition are a core feature of schizophrenia and predictive of functional outcome. Higher plasma levels of the cytokine interleukin 6 (IL-6) have recently been associated with poorer facial emotion recognition in individuals with schizophrenia and healthy participants, but the neural mechanisms affected remain poorly understood.

Methods: Forty-nine individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 158 healthy participants were imaged using functional magnetic resonance imaging during a dynamic facial emotion recognition task.

Current psychosocial stress, childhood trauma and cognition in patients with schizophrenia and healthy participants.

Background: Cognitive difficulties are experienced frequently in schizophrenia (SZ) and are strongly predictive of functional outcome. Although severity of cognitive difficulties has been robustly associated with early life adversity, whether and how they are affected by current stress is unknown. The present study investigated whether acute stress reactivity as measured by heart rate and mood changes predict cognitive performance in patients with schizophrenia and healthy individuals, and whether this is moderated by diagnosis and previous childhood trauma exposure.

Early life Adversity, functional connectivity and cognitive performance in Schizophrenia: The mediating role of IL-6.

Objective: Exposure to childhood trauma (CT) is associated with cognitive impairment in schizophrenia, and deficits in social cognition in particular. Here, we sought to test whether IL-6 mediated the association between CT and social cognition both directly, and sequentially via altered default mode network (DMN) connectivity.

Methods: Three-hundred-and-eleven participants (104 patients and 207 healthy participants) were included, with MRI data acquired in a subset of n = 147.

Changes in Default-Mode Network Associated With Childhood Trauma in Schizophrenia.

Background: There is considerable evidence of dysconnectivity within the default-mode network (DMN) in schizophrenia, as measured during resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI). History of childhood trauma (CT) is observed at a higher frequency in schizophrenia than in the general population, but its relationship to DMN functional connectivity has yet to be investigated.

Methods: CT history and rs-fMRI data were collected in 65 individuals with schizophrenia and 132 healthy controls.

Childhood trauma, brain structure and emotion recognition in patients with schizophrenia and healthy participants.

Childhood trauma, and in particular physical neglect, has been repeatedly associated with lower performance on measures of social cognition (e.g. emotion recognition tasks) in both psychiatric and non-clinical populations.

Childhood trauma, parental bonding, and social cognition in patients with schizophrenia and healthy adults.

Objective: This study investigated associations between childhood trauma, parental bonding, and social cognition (i.e., Theory of Mind and emotion recognition) in patients with schizophrenia and healthy adults.

Early life experiences and social cognition in major psychiatric disorders: A systematic review.

Objective: To present a systematic review of the literature on the associations between early social environment, early life adversity, and social cognition in major psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, major depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Method: Relevant studies were identified via electronic and manual searches of the literature and included articles written in English and published in peer-reviewed journals up to May 2018. Quality assessment was performed using the quality evaluation scale employed in previous systematic reviews.

Supernatural Belief Is Not Modulated by Intuitive Thinking Style or Cognitive Inhibition.

According to the Intuitive Belief Hypothesis, supernatural belief relies heavily on intuitive thinking-and decreases when analytic thinking is engaged. After pointing out various limitations in prior attempts to support this Intuitive Belief Hypothesis, we test it across three new studies using a variety of paradigms, ranging from a pilgrimage field study to a neurostimulation experiment. In all three studies, we found no relationship between intuitive or analytical thinking and supernatural belief.