Cognitive Features of High-functioning Adults with Autism and Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders.

Objective: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia share common features in terms of pathophysiology and clinical appearance. Cognitive deficits are also present in both disorders. However, ASD and schizophrenia are heterogeneous syndromes, and  few  studies  have addressed patients with these disorders who have above average educational attainment.

Fighting against cigarette smoking among medical students: a success story.

A survey in the year 2007 among medical students of Ankara University Medical School to assess the smoking rates showed that 25.1 % of them were smoking. Moreover, the smoking rate was 35 % at sixth grade students and 60 % of the smokers specified that they started smoking at medical school.

Theory of Mind in Schizophrenia and Asperger's Syndrome: Relationship with Negative Symptoms.

Objective: Although previous studies have shown that the theory of mind (ToM) ability is impaired in Asperger's Syndrome (AS) and in schizophrenia, few controlled studies compared the ToM performance between the two disorders. Besides, the relationship between the degree of ToM impairment and symptom dimensions is unclear, and presence of ToM impairment in remitted patients with schizophrenia is controversial. Here, we tested the hypothesis that schizophrenia patients with prominent negative symptoms were closer to AS patients and different than schizophrenia patients without prominent negative symptoms and healthy controls in terms of ToM functioning.

[Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in Asperger's syndrome: correlations with neuropsychological test scores].

Objectives: It has been shown that autistic spectrum patients have impaired theory of mind (ToM) performance; however, no study has investigated the relationship between ToM performance and brain neurochemistry in these patients. The present study aimed to investigate the correlations between dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA)/choline (Cho), NAA/creatine (Cr), and Cho/Cr values based on H magnetic resonance spectroscopy and ToM tests.

Method: The study sample included 13 adult, right-handed, Caucasian males with Asperger’s syndrome (AS) (age range: 17–37 years) and 20 controls matched by age, gender, handedness, and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Revised (WAIS-R) full-scale IQ scores.

Impaired verbal memory and otherwise spared cognition in remitted bipolar patients on monotherapy with lithium or valproate.

Objectives: Patients with bipolar disorder have been reported to have neurocognitive deficits; however, it is not known whether the cognitive dysfunctions are state-dependent or a stable trait. Lithium and valproate, 2 of the most widely used mood stabilizers in the treatment of bipolar disorder, have also been associated with cognitive impairment. However, the degree and pattern of neurocognitive impairment in euthymic bipolar patients on either monotherapy with lithium or valproate have not been compared before in depth.

Relative sparing of executive functions in the early phase of schizophrenia.

Findings about the impairment of executive functions in schizophrenia are not conclusive. The authors hypothesized that the severity of the impairments in the abilities that comprise EF might be different. Forty patients were assessed with a comprehensive battery that included four measures of executive functions and were compared with 60 healthy subjects.

[Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Wender Utah Rating Scale for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults].

Objective: To determine reliability and validity of Turkish form of the 25 item Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS), which is designed as an aid for diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults.

Method: The scale was administered to 59 patients who were diagnosed as having ADHD according to DSM-IV criteria after comprehensive psychiatric and neuropsychological assessments in outpatient clinics of University of Ankara Medical School, Department of Psychiatry. Control groups consisted of 59 patients with depression, 44 patients with bipolar affective disorder in remission, and 145 healthy controls.

[Neuropsychological findings in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder].

Objective: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common disorder with childhood onset and persistence into adulthood. Role of neuropsychological testing is becoming an important clinical measure in the assessment and diagnosis of adults with ADHD. The aim of this study was to assess neuropsychological functions of adults with ADHD compared to healthy controls.

Dissociation between inattentiveness during mental status testing and social inattentiveness in the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms attention subscale.

The Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) attention subscale has been found valid and reliable by some studies; however, there is some evidence to the contrary. We hypothesized that social inattentiveness (SANS 22) and inattentiveness during mental status testing (SANS 23) might be describing discrete constructs, and this dissociation might be a source of controversy. Thirty-five patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia were assessed by the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), SANS and a neuropsychological battery.