Perceiving a discontinuity in motion.

Studies have shown that the position of a target stimulus is misperceived owing to ongoing motion. Although static forces (fixation, landmarks) affect perceived position, motion remains the overwhelming force driving estimates of position. Motion endpoint estimates biased in the direction of motion are perceptual signatures of motion's dominant role in localization.

Environmental factors and social adjustment as predictors of a first psychosis in subjects at ultra high risk.

Background: The onset of schizophrenia is associated with genetic, symptomatic, social and environmental risk factors. The aim of the present study was to determine which environmental factors may contribute to a prediction of a first psychotic episode in subjects at Ultra High Risk (UHR) for developing psychosis.

Method: We included 72 UHR subjects and followed them over a period of 36 months, of whom nineteen (26.

Three-year course of clinical symptomatology in young people at ultra high risk for transition to psychosis.

Objective: The investigation into the course of ultra high risk (UHR) symptomatology of those patients who eventually do not meet the psychosis-threshold criteria within the 3-year timeframe of the study.

Method: The course of UHR symptoms, GAF score and employment status was investigated in 57 patients who did not make a transition to psychosis and who were examined within the Dutch Prediction of Psychosis Study in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Results: At the 3-year follow-up, 75% of the patients who did not make a transition to psychosis had remitted from UHR status.

Reduced parietal P300 amplitude is associated with an increased risk for a first psychotic episode.

Background: P300 abnormalities indicate changes in information processing and are one of the most reliable biological markers of schizophrenia. We sought to investigate whether abnormalities in P300 (P3) or other event-related potentials are also present in subjects at ultra high risk (UHR) for developing psychosis and whether they are helpful in predicting transition to psychosis.

Methods: The N1, N2, N2b, P2, and P3 amplitudes were assessed in 61 UHR subjects, of whom 18 subjects (30%) made a transition to psychosis over a 3-year follow-up period (UHR + T: age 20.

Increased saccadic rate during smooth pursuit eye movements in patients at Ultra High Risk for developing a psychosis.

Abnormalities in eye tracking are consistently observed in schizophrenia patients and their relatives and have been proposed as an endophenotype of the disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the performance of patients at Ultra High Risk (UHR) for developing psychosis on a task of smooth pursuit eye movement (SPEM). Forty-six UHR patients and twenty-eight age and education matched controls were assessed with a task of SPEM and psychiatric questionnaires.

The variable plasma quercetin response to 12-week quercetin supplementation in humans.

Background/objectives: Quercetin supplementation results in a variable plasma quercetin response in humans. The purpose of this study was to determine whether this variance is related to gender, age, body mass index (BMI), and other demographic and lifestyle factors.

Subjects/methods: Subjects (N=1002, ages 18-85 years, 60% female and 40% male) were recruited from the community and randomized to one of three groups, with supplements administered using double-blinded procedures: Q-500 (500 mg/day), Q-1000 (1000 mg/day), or placebo.

A 12-week supplementation with quercetin does not affect natural killer cell activity, granulocyte oxidative burst activity or granulocyte phagocytosis in female human subjects.

Quercetin, a flavonoid found in fruits and vegetables, is a strong antioxidant with anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and immune-modulating properties. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of long-term quercetin supplementation on innate immune function and inflammation in human subjects. Female subjects (n 120; aged 30-79 years) were recruited from the community and randomised to one of three groups, with supplements administered using double-blinded procedures: 500 mg quercetin/d (n 38), 1000 mg quercetin/d (n 40) or placebo (n 42).

Quercetin supplementation and upper respiratory tract infection: A randomized community clinical trial.

Quercetin in culture with target cells and pathogens exerts anti-pathogenic activities against a wide variety of viruses and bacteria. A few small-scale human quercetin supplementation studies have produced conflicting results regarding quercetin's effects on upper respiratory tract infection rates, and little is known regarding the appropriate human dose. The purpose of this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial was to measure the influence of two quercetin doses (500 and 1000 mg/day) compared to placebo on upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) rates in a large community group (N=1002) of subjects varying widely in age (18-85 years).

Reduced context effects on retrieval in first-episode schizophrenia.

Background: A recent modeling study by the authors predicted that contextual information is poorly integrated into episodic representations in schizophrenia, and that this is a main cause of the retrieval deficits seen in schizophrenia.

Methodology/principal Findings: We have tested this prediction in patients with first-episode schizophrenia and matched controls. The benefit from contextual cues in retrieval was strongly reduced in patients.

Age of onset of cannabis use is associated with age of onset of high-risk symptoms for psychosis.

Objective: Increasing interest in the prodromal stage of schizophrenia over the past decade led us to perform our study to monitor people at high risk for developing a psychosis. We hypothesized that cannabis use or a cannabis use disorder at a younger age relates to high-risk symptoms at a younger age.

Method: People referred to the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with an ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis were interviewed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview to assess their cannabis consumption.

A single blind randomized controlled trial of cognitive behavioural therapy in a help-seeking population with an At Risk Mental State for psychosis: the Dutch Early Detection and Intervention Evaluation (EDIE-NL) trial.

Background: Psychotic disorders are a serious mental health problem. Intervention before the onset of psychosis might result in delaying the onset, reducing the impact or even preventing the first episode of psychosis. This study explores the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in targeting cognitive biases that are involved in the formation of delusions in persons with an ultra-high risk for developing psychosis.

Symptomatology and neuropsychological functioning in cannabis using subjects at ultra-high risk for developing psychosis and healthy controls.

Objective: The relationship between cannabis use and psychosis has been studied intensively. Few data, however, are available on the relationship between cannabis use, ultra-high risk for developing psychosis and neurocognition. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was therefore to investigate the relationship between cannabis use, ultra-high-risk (UHR) symptoms and cognitive functioning in UHR patients and healthy controls.

Effect of n-3 fatty acids and antioxidants on oxidative stress after exercise.

Purpose: n-3 fatty acids are known to exert multiple beneficial effects including anti-inflammatory actions that may diminish oxidative stress. Supplementation with antioxidant vitamins has been proposed to counteract oxidative stress and improve antioxidant status. Therefore, this project investigated the effects of daily supplementation in 48 trained cyclists over 6 wk and during 3 d of continuous exercise on F2-isoprostanes (oxidative stress), plasma n-3 fatty acids, and antioxidant status (oxygen radical absorption capacity and ferric-reducing antioxidant potential).

Neurocognitive functioning before and after the first psychotic episode: does psychosis result in cognitive deterioration?

Background: Cognitive impairment is considered to be a core characteristic of schizophrenia. The relationship between psychosis and cognitive deterioration, however, remains unclear. This longitudinal study investigated the neuropsychological functioning of patients before and after their first psychotic episode.

Quercetin's effect on cycling efficiency and substrate utilization.

Previous evidence suggests that quercetin supplementation increases performance in humans. We examined the effects of 3 weeks of quercetin supplementation on fuel utilization, gross efficiency (GE), and perceived effort during 3 h of cycling over 3 successive days. Forty cyclists were randomized into quercetin and placebo groups and tested for maximal oxygen consumption (53.

Verbal fluency as a possible predictor for psychosis.

Background: Neurocognitive abnormalities are prevalent in both first episode schizophrenia patients and in ultra high risk (UHR) patients.

Aim: To compare verbal fluency performance at baseline in UHR in patients that did and did not make the transition to psychosis.

Method: Baseline verbal fluency performance in UHR-patients (n=47) was compared to match first episode patients (n=69) and normal controls (n=42).

Quercetin supplementation does not alter antioxidant status in humans.

This study measured the influence of ingesting quercetin on plasma measures for oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity. Male and female subjects (n = 1002) varying in age (18-85 years) and body mass index (BMI) (16.7-52.

Quercetin's influence on exercise performance and muscle mitochondrial biogenesis.

Purpose: To determine the influence of 2 wk of quercetin (Q; 1000 mg x d(-1)) compared with placebo (P) supplementation on exercise performance and skeletal muscle mitochondrial biogenesis in untrained, young adult males (N = 26, age = 20.2 +/- 0.4 yr, VO2max = 46.

n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids do not alter immune and inflammation measures in endurance athletes.

The purpose of this study was to test the influence of 2.4 g/d fish oil n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) over 6 wk on exercise performance, inflammation, and immune measures in 23 trained cyclists before and after a 3-d period of intense exercise. Participants were randomized to n-3 PUFA (n = 11; 2,000 mg eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA], 400 mg docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) or placebo (n = 12) groups.

White-matter markers for psychosis in a prospective ultra-high-risk cohort.

Background: Subjects at 'ultra high risk' (UHR) for developing psychosis have differences in white matter (WM) compared with healthy controls. WM integrity has not yet been investigated in UHR subjects in relation to the development of subsequent psychosis. Hence, we investigated a prospective cohort of UHR subjects comparing whole brain fractional anisotropy (FA) of those later developing psychosis (UHR-P) to those who did not (UHR-NP).

Effects of commercially formulated water on the hydration status of dehydrated collegiate wrestlers.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of three different drinks (commercially formulated water, bottled water, and a carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage) on blood and urinary markers of hydration after acute dehydration in collegiate wrestlers. Twenty-one athletes were recruited to perform a randomized, crossover study comparing the effectiveness of commercially formulated water, carbohydrate-electrolyte (6% or 60 g L(-1)), or regular bottled water (placebo) in promoting rehydration after a 3% reduction in body mass. Urine specific gravity (U(sg)), urine osmolarity (U(osm)), plasma osmolarity (P(osm)), and plasma volume were measured pre- and post-dehydration and at 1 hour after rehydration.

Effect of an acute bout of whole body vibration exercise on muscle force output and motor neuron excitability.

The purpose of the current investigation was to assess the effect of an acute bout of whole body vibration (WBV) exercise on muscle force output and motor neuron excitability. Nineteen recreationally trained college-aged males were randomly assigned to a WBV (n = 10) or a sham (S, n = 9) group. The WBV group completed a series of static, body weight squats on a vibrating platform at 30 Hz and an amplitude of approximately 3.

Successive bouts of cycling stimulates genes associated with mitochondrial biogenesis.

Exercise increases mRNA for genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative enzyme capacity. However, little is known about how these genes respond to consecutive bouts of prolonged exercise. We examined the effects of 3 h of intensive cycling performed on three consecutive days on the mRNA associated with mitochondrial biogenesis in trained human subjects.

Chia seed does not promote weight loss or alter disease risk factors in overweight adults.

The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of chia seed (Salvia hispanica L) in promoting weight loss and altering disease risk factors in overweight adults. The hypothesis was that the high dietary fiber and alpha-linolenic (ALA) contents of chia seed would induce a small but significant decrease in body weight and fat and improve disease risk factors. Subjects were randomized to chia seed (CS) and placebo (P) groups, and under single-blinded procedures, ingested 25 g CS or P supplements mixed in 0.

Prescription of antipsychotic medication to patients at ultra high risk of developing psychosis.

Little is known about medication prescription in a naturalistic setting to patients at ultra high risk (UHR) of developing psychosis. Antipsychotic medication prescription to UHR patients is not recommended in clinical practice guidelines based on the current evidence. The aim of this study is to investigate medication prescription to UHR patients in the Netherlands.