Motor learning and performance in schizophrenia and aging: two different patterns of decline.

Psychomotor slowing has consistently been observed in schizophrenia, however research on motor learning in schizophrenia is limited. Additionally, motor learning in schizophrenia has never been compared with the waning of motor learning abilities in the elderly. Therefore, in an extensive study, 30 individuals with schizophrenia, 30 healthy age-matched controls and 30 elderly participants were compared on sensorimotor learning tasks including sequence learning and adaptation (both explicit and implicit), as well as tracking and aiming.

Impaired Sensorimotor Adaption in Schizophrenia in Comparison to Age-Matched and Elderly Controls.

Background: The "cognitive dysmetria hypothesis" of schizophrenia proposes a disrupted communication between the cerebellum and cerebral cortex, resulting in sensorimotor and cognitive symptoms. Sensorimotor adaptation relies strongly on the function of the cerebellum.

Objectives: This study investigated whether sensorimotor adaptation is reduced in schizophrenia compared with age-matched and elderly healthy controls.

Are emotional action tendencies and attentional bias related to temperament dimensions in patients with borderline personality disorder?

Disturbances in emotion regulation have been identified as a core feature of patients with a borderline personality disorder (BPD). Findings of studies using experimental measures of emotion processing are mixed, which may be partially explained by the heterogeneity of the BPD population. To address this issue, we investigated differences in experimental measures of emotional action tendencies (approach-avoidance behaviour) and attentional bias to emotional stimuli in BPD subtypes.

Psychomotor assessment as a tool to differentiate schizophrenia from other psychotic disorders.

Goal: The aim of this study is to assess to what extent psychomotor assessment can aid the clinician in differentiating between schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

Methods: Enrolled subjects were recent in remission patients (n=304), who all met DSM-IV (APA, 2013) criteria for either schizophrenia (Sz; n=117), schizoaffective disorder (SaD; n=36), psychotic disorder not otherwise specified (P-NOS) (n=86), substance/medication-induced psychotic disorder (SIPD; n=33) or major depressive disorder with psychotic features (MDD-p; n=32). The patients were submitted to a psychomotor test battery.

Inhibitory control in euthymic bipolar disorder: Event related potentials during a Go/NoGo task.

Objectives: Patients with bipolar disorder (BD) are reported to have difficulties with inhibition, even in a euthymic state. However, the literature on cortical activity associated with response inhibition in BD remains ambiguous. This study investigates inhibition in euthymic BD using electrophysiological measures, while controlling for effects of specific medications.