Modulation of brain activity with transcranial direct current stimulation: Targeting regions implicated in impaired illness awareness in schizophrenia.

Background: Impaired illness awareness or insight into illness (IIA) is a common feature of schizophrenia that contributes to medication nonadherence and poor clinical outcomes. Neuroimaging studies suggest IIA may arise from interhemispheric imbalance in frontoparietal regions, particularly in the posterior parietal area (PPA) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). In this pilot study, we examined the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on brain regions implicated in IIA.

Striatal neurometabolite levels in patients with schizophrenia undergoing long-term antipsychotic treatment: A proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and reliability study.

Previous proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) studies have reported disrupted levels of various neurometabolites in patients with schizophrenia. An area of particular interest within this patient population is the striatum, which is highly implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The present study examined neurometabolite levels in the striatum of 12 patients with schizophrenia receiving antipsychotic treatment for at least 1 year and 11 healthy controls using 3-Tesla H-MRS (PRESS, TE = 35 ms).

Psychosocial correlates of using faith healing services in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a comparative cross-sectional study.

Background: In this study, we compared the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and the characteristics of those who either use or do not use faith healers (FHs) services. We also assessed the independent factors of study subjects associated with using FHs.

Methods: This cross-sectional study compared those who use FHs (n = 383) with a control group of those who do not use them (i.

The prevalence of psychiatric disorders among visitors to faith healers in Saudi Arabia.

Objective: We investigated the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among visitors to Faith Healers (FHs) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We also studied the sociodemographic profiles for these visitors, in addition to their past psychiatric history, reason(s) for seeking FH help, and past and current treatment experience with FHs.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among the visitors (n=321) to a number of faith healing settings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia using a specially designed questionnaire and validated Arabic version of The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview.