Placental concentrations of xenoestrogenic organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls and assessment of their xenoestrogenicity in the PA-MAMI mother-child cohort.

Background: Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), they have contributed to the exposure of women to persistent organic pollutants (POPs). These compounds can cross the placental barrier and interfere with the hormonal system of newborns.

Aim: To determine concentrations of OCPs and PCBs and their xenoestrogenic activity in placentas of women from the PA-MAMI cohort of Panama.

Neural correlates of referential/persecutory delusions in schizophrenia: examination using fMRI and a virtual reality underground travel paradigm.

Background: The brain functional correlates of delusions have been relatively little studied. However, a virtual reality paradigm simulating travel on the London Underground has been found to evoke referential ideation in both healthy subjects and patients with schizophrenia, making brain activations in response to such experiences potentially identifiable.

Method: Ninety patients with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder and 28 healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while they viewed virtual reality versions of full and empty Barcelona Metro carriages.