Cognitive clusters in first-episode psychosis.

Impairments in a broad range of cognitive domains have been consistently reported in some individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP). Cognitive deficits can be observed during the prodromal stage. However, the course of cognitive deficits is still unclear.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on acute inpatient psychiatric units in Spain.

Patients with more severe mental health symptoms are treated in acute inpatient psychiatric units (AIPUs), but the functioning of these units throughout Spain has been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic. We therefore conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional study to assess the situation. An online survey was distributed to all hospitals with AIPUs in Spain and made accessible for 28 days.

The Independent Effects of Psychosocial Stressors on Subclinical Psychosis: Findings From the Multinational EU-GEI Study.

The influence of psychosocial stressors on psychosis risk has usually been studied in isolation and after the onset of the disorder, potentially ignoring important confounding relationships or the fact that some stressors that may be the consequence of the disorder rather than preexisting. The study of subclinical psychosis could help to address some of these issues. In this study, we investigated whether there was (i) an association between dimensions of subclinical psychosis and several psychosocial stressors including: childhood trauma, self-reported discrimination experiences, low social capital, and stressful life experiences, and (ii) any evidence of environment-environment (ExE) interactions between these factors.

Grey matter microstructural alterations in schizophrenia patients with treatment-resistant auditory verbal hallucinations.

Treatment-resistant auditory verbal hallucinations (TRAVH) are a relatively prevalent and devastating symptom in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ). Even though their pathological mechanisms are poorly understood, they seem to differ from those underlying non-hallucinating SCZ. In this study, we characterise structural brain changes in SCZ patients with TRAVH.

Examining the association between exposome score for schizophrenia and functioning in schizophrenia, siblings, and healthy controls: Results from the EUGEI study.

Background: A cumulative environmental exposure score for schizophrenia (exposome score for schizophrenia [ES-SCZ]) may provide potential utility for risk stratification and outcome prediction. Here, we investigated whether ES-SCZ was associated with functioning in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, unaffected siblings, and healthy controls.

Methods: This cross-sectional sample consisted of 1,261 patients, 1,282 unaffected siblings, and 1,525 healthy controls.

Structure and Functioning of Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Units in Spain: Qualitative Study.

Background: As a consequence of the decentralization of health care provision to the different Regions (called Autonomous Communities) in Spain, different health care models and resources have been developed for psychiatric patients. It would be very useful to obtain comprehensive and comparative data on health care models, resources, and activity of acute inpatient psychiatric units (AIPUs) as a key part of mental health systems.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the current state of AIPUs in Spain through a national scorecard that allows the current situation to be visualized in terms of resources, processes, and outputs.

Different emotional profile of health care staff and general population during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Objective: The aims of this study were to assess COVID-19 outbreak-related emotions, to identify vulnerable groups within health care workers (HCW) and to study the relationship between the emotional state and some environmental features.

Method: We conducted a cross-sectional study on March 29 to April 5, 2020 based on a national online survey using snowball sampling techniques. A list of emotional states was compared in HCW and non-HCW and within HCW roles.

Examining the independent and joint effects of genomic and exposomic liabilities for schizophrenia across the psychosis spectrum.

Aims: Psychosis spectrum disorder has a complex pathoetiology characterised by interacting environmental and genetic vulnerabilities. The present study aims to investigate the role of gene-environment interaction using aggregate scores of genetic (polygenic risk score for schizophrenia (PRS-SCZ)) and environment liability for schizophrenia (exposome score for schizophrenia (ES-SCZ)) across the psychosis continuum.

Methods: The sample consisted of 1699 patients, 1753 unaffected siblings, and 1542 healthy comparison participants.

Evidence, and replication thereof, that molecular-genetic and environmental risks for psychosis impact through an affective pathway.

Background: There is evidence that environmental and genetic risk factors for schizophrenia spectrum disorders are transdiagnostic and mediated in part through a generic pathway of affective dysregulation.

Methods: We analysed to what degree the impact of schizophrenia polygenic risk (PRS-SZ) and childhood adversity (CA) on psychosis outcomes was contingent on co-presence of affective dysregulation, defined as significant depressive symptoms, in (i) NEMESIS-2 ( = 6646), a representative general population sample, interviewed four times over nine years and (ii) EUGEI ( = 4068) a sample of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, the siblings of these patients and controls.

Results: The impact of PRS-SZ on psychosis showed significant dependence on co-presence of affective dysregulation in NEMESIS-2 [relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI): 1.

A replication study of JTC bias, genetic liability for psychosis and delusional ideation.

Background: This study attempted to replicate whether a bias in probabilistic reasoning, or 'jumping to conclusions'(JTC) bias is associated with being a sibling of a patient with schizophrenia spectrum disorder; and if so, whether this association is contingent on subthreshold delusional ideation.

Methods: Data were derived from the EUGEI project, a 25-centre, 15-country effort to study psychosis spectrum disorder. The current analyses included 1261 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, 1282 siblings of patients and 1525 healthy comparison subjects, recruited in Spain (five centres), Turkey (three centres) and Serbia (one centre).

Assessing irritability in patients with stroke: psychometric properties of the Irritability Questionnaire.

: Irritability is a very common symptom after stroke and a source of a great deal of distress to patients and caretakers. We evaluated the psychometric properties of the Irritability Questionnaire (IQ) in a sample of patients with stroke.: we recruited 94 participants (47 stroke patients and 47 healthy controls) that participated in a 6-month longitudinal observational study.

White Noise Speech Illusions: A Trait-Dependent Risk Marker for Psychotic Disorder?

White noise speech illusions index liability for psychotic disorder in case-control comparisons. In the current study, we examined i) the rate of white noise speech illusions in siblings of patients with psychotic disorder and ii) to what degree this rate would be contingent on exposure to known environmental risk factors (childhood adversity and recent life events) and level of known endophenotypic dimensions of psychotic disorder [psychotic experiences assessed with the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) scale and cognitive ability]. The white noise task was used as an experimental paradigm to elicit and measure speech illusions in 1,014 patients with psychotic disorders, 1,157 siblings, and 1,507 healthy participants.

Estimating Exposome Score for Schizophrenia Using Predictive Modeling Approach in Two Independent Samples: The Results From the EUGEI Study.

Exposures constitute a dense network of the environment: exposome. Here, we argue for embracing the exposome paradigm to investigate the sum of nongenetic "risk" and show how predictive modeling approaches can be used to construct an exposome score (ES; an aggregated score of exposures) for schizophrenia. The training dataset consisted of patients with schizophrenia and controls, whereas the independent validation dataset consisted of patients, their unaffected siblings, and controls.

Replicated evidence that endophenotypic expression of schizophrenia polygenic risk is greater in healthy siblings of patients compared to controls, suggesting gene-environment interaction. The EUGEI study.

Background: First-degree relatives of patients with psychotic disorder have higher levels of polygenic risk (PRS) for schizophrenia and higher levels of intermediate phenotypes.

Methods: We conducted, using two different samples for discovery (n = 336 controls and 649 siblings of patients with psychotic disorder) and replication (n = 1208 controls and 1106 siblings), an analysis of association between PRS on the one hand and psychopathological and cognitive intermediate phenotypes of schizophrenia on the other in a sample at average genetic risk (healthy controls) and a sample at higher than average risk (healthy siblings of patients). Two subthreshold psychosis phenotypes, as well as a standardised measure of cognitive ability, based on a short version of the WAIS-III short form, were used.

A systematic review of sex-based differences in effectiveness and adverse effects of clozapine.

Clozapine is one of the most widely used antipsychotics for treating psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This drug, however, is associated with adverse effects such as weight gain, metabolic syndrome, and blood dyscrasias. The manifestations of mental illness may differ between men and women.

Examining the independent and joint effects of molecular genetic liability and environmental exposures in schizophrenia: results from the EUGEI study.

Schizophrenia is a heritable complex phenotype associated with a background risk involving multiple common genetic variants of small effect and a multitude of environmental exposures. Early twin and family studies using proxy-genetic liability measures suggest gene-environment interaction in the etiology of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, but the molecular evidence is scarce. Here, by analyzing the main and joint associations of polygenic risk score for schizophrenia (PRS-SCZ) and environmental exposures in 1,699 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 1,542 unrelated controls with no lifetime history of a diagnosis of those disorders, we provide further evidence for gene-environment interaction in schizophrenia.

Influence of emotional contexts on facial emotion attribution in schizophrenia.

Recent emotion recognition studies in schizophrenia have reported misattribution of emotional content to emotionally neutral faces. While in these studies faces are presented in the absence of any contextual reference, in daily life facial expressions are typically perceived within a specific situational context. However, there is no evidence on the possible modulatory role of contextual aids on emotion attribution to neutral faces.

Correlates of neurocognitive functions in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis - A 6-month follow-up study.

Cognitive deficits are evident at the prodromal phase of psychosis. It has been noted that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is correlated with cognition in both preclinical and clinical studies. However, to our knowledge, no study has evaluated blood BDNF levels and their association with cognitive impairment in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR).

Detection of early psychotic symptoms: Validation of the Spanish version of the "Symptom Onset in Schizophrenia (SOS) inventory".

The period of subclinical signs that precedes the onset of psychosis is referred to as the prodrome or high-risk mental state. The "Symptom Onset in Schizophrenia (SOS) inventory" is an instrument to characterize and date the initial symptoms of a psychotic illness. The present study aims to provide reliability and validity data for clinical and research use of the Spanish version of the SOS.

Neurocognition in patients with psychotic and non-psychotic bipolar I disorder. A comparative study with individuals with schizophrenia.

Background: It has been suggested that patients with bipolar disorder with psychotic symptoms (BD-P) have larger neurocognitive impairment than patients with bipolar disorder without a history of psychotic symptoms (BD-NP). The objective of this study was to compare neurocognitive performance of BD-P and BD-NP relative to a group of patients with schizophrenia (SZ), and healthy controls (HC).

Methods: Neurocognitive function was examined in 100 subjects with bipolar I disorder (50 BD-P, 50 BD-NP), 50 SZ, and 51 HC.