Publications by authors named "M T van de Bilt"
Natural language processing in at-risk mental states: enhancing the assessment of thought disorders and psychotic traits with semantic dynamics and graph theory.
Braz J Psychiatry
July 2024
Article Synopsis
- The study explores the relationship between verbal communication and mental health evaluation, particularly in early psychosis, using natural-language-processing (NLP) techniques.
- Researchers analyzed speech from individuals at risk of psychosis and a control group, identifying various NLP features that correlate with psychotic symptoms.
- Findings suggest that subtle speech impairments can effectively indicate mental health risks, proposing a new framework for using speech analysis in clinical assessments.
Determining peripheral modulation of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) may be important for differentiating individuals with schizophrenia. Such differentiation can also be extended to subgroups of individuals, those who use cannabis and antipsychotic medications, particularly those who are treatment resistant. Patients and controls were recruited from the outpatient clinic of the Psychosis Group of the University of São Paulo, Brazil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCannabis use influences disorganized symptoms severity but not transition in a cohort of non-help-seeking individuals at-risk for psychosis from São Paulo, Brazil.
Psychiatry Res
January 2024
Background: Cannabis use is associated with an increased risk of developing a psychotic disorder. However, in individuals with at-risk mental states for psychosis (ARMS) this association is not clear, as well as the impact of cannabis use on symptom severity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of cannabis use patterns and ARMS risk status, transition to psychotic and psychiatric disorders, and psychopathology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlasma levels of neurotrophin 4/5, NGF and pro-BDNF influence transition to mental disorders in a sample of individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis.
Psychiatry Res
September 2023
Background: Neurotrophins (NTs) and their precursors (pro-NTs) are polypeptides with important roles in neuronal development, differentiation, growth, survival and plasticity, as well as apoptosis and neuronal death. Imbalance in NT levels were observed in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, but evidence in ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR) samples is scarce.
Methods: A naturalistic sample of 87 non-help-seeking UHR subjects and 55 healthy controls was drawn from the general population.
Article Synopsis
- The study developed a machine learning model to differentiate individuals with "at-risk mental states for psychosis" (ARMS) from healthy controls using facial data from video recordings.
- It involved 58 ARMS subjects and 70 healthy individuals, examining 649 facial features extracted from short videos filmed during a structured interview.
- The final model achieved strong performance metrics, including an 83% mean F1-score and a 93% area under the curve, indicating its potential utility for screening in low-resource environments.