The influence of social anchorage on the gender difference in the use of mental health services.

Overall, women are more likely than men to seek professional care when they face light or moderate mental health problems. This difference is usually attributed to culture-related factors, but neither women nor men form a homogeneous cultural group. The help-seeking behavior may reflect not only the cultural values and expectations associated with a specific gender but also those associated with specific social roles endorsed by women and men.

Lateralized sex differences in stress-induced dopamine release in the rat.

This study examined the possibility that hemispheric differences in stress-induced brain activation vary as a function of sex. Using in-vivo voltammetry, increases in extracellular dopamine release in response to predator odour and tail pinch stress were recorded bilaterally and simultaneously in either the infralimbic cortex or basolateral amygdala. In both stress-sensitive brain regions, significant sex x hemisphere interactions were observed, with males and females showing greater dopamine activation in right-brain and left-brain structures, respectively.

Obsessional beliefs, compulsive behaviours and symptom severity: their evolution and interrelation over stages of treatment.

The current study reports a case series examining (1) the variation in strength of obsessional doubt and belief in consequences of the doubt; and (2) the interaction between these cognitive components and symptom measures of duration and severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), over 24 weeks of cognitive behaviour therapy. Eight participants diagnosed with OCD, four with contamination-related rituals and four with checking behaviours, were selected on the basis of the Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale (Y-BOCS) and Padua ratings. All participants completed daily diaries measuring strength of principal obsessional doubt (0-100), strength of belief in consequences of the doubt (0-100) and the duration of the compulsive rituals throughout the 24 weeks of therapy.

Sex differences in corticolimbic dopamine and serotonin systems in the rat and the effect of postnatal handling.

Stress-related psychopathology is particularly prevalent in women, although the neurobiological reason(s) for this are unclear. Dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) systems however, are known to play important adaptive roles in stress and emotion regulation. The aims of the present study included examination of sex differences in stress-related behaviour and neuroendocrine function as well as post mortem neurochemistry, with the main hypothesis that corticolimbic DA and 5-HT systems would show greater functional activity in males than females.

Preserved awareness of their cognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia: convergent validity of the SSTICS.

This study aimed to examine the convergent validity of the SSTICS. The association between the SSTICS and the five-factor model of the PANSS was also examined. One hundred and seventy-six schizophrenia-spectrum disorder patients were recruited.

Membrane signalling complexes: implications for development of functionally selective ligands modulating heptahelical receptor signalling.

Technological development has considerably changed the way in which we evaluate drug efficacy and has led to a conceptual revolution in pharmacological theory. In particular, molecular resolution assays have revealed that heptahelical receptors may adopt multiple active conformations with unique signalling properties. It is therefore becoming widely accepted that ligand ability to stabilize receptor conformations with distinct signalling profiles may allow to direct the stimulus generated by an activated receptor towards a specific signalling pathway.

Cholinergic innervation and thalamic input in rat nucleus accumbens.

Cholinergic interneurons are the only known source of acetylcholine in the rat nucleus accumbens (nAcb); yet there is little anatomical data about their mode of innervation and the origin of their excitatory drive. We characterized the cholinergic and thalamic innervations of nAcb with choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunocytochemistry and anterograde transport of Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin (PHA-L) from the midline/intralaminar/paraventricular thalamic nuclei. The use of a monoclonal ChAT antiserum against whole rat ChAT protein allowed for an optimal visualization of the small dendritic branches and fine varicose axons of cholinergic interneurons.

Evidence for a role of endogenous neurotensin in the development of sensitization to the locomotor stimulant effect of morphine.

This experiment was aimed at exploring the role of endogenous neurotensin in the development of sensitization to the locomotor stimulant effect of morphine. During the induction phase (Days 1, 3, 5 and 7), male Long-Evans adult rats were treated with the neurotensin antagonist SR-48692 (160, 320 or 640 microg/kg, i.p.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and social support in female victims of sexual assault: the impact of spousal involvement on the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy.

The goal of this study is to enhance the efficacy of CBT with victims of sexual assault suffering from PTSD by getting the spouse involved. Thus, in addition to attempting to reduce PTSD symptoms, the therapy focuses on improving the support offered by the spouse and favors management of the impact of the traumatic event within the couple. A single-case, multiple-baseline across-subjects design is used.

Topographical Fos induction within the ventral midbrain and projection sites following self-stimulation of the posterior mesencephalon.

Rats will readily perform an operant response to self-administer electrical stimulation to the posterior mesencephalon (PM). Previous results show that axons that support self-stimulation travel between the PM and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and that their activation increases firing of VTA neurons. The present work sought to extend these findings by describing the distribution of ventral midbrain neurons affected by PM self-stimulation.

Neurotensin modulation of spontaneous EPSCs in the nucleus accumbens of Lewis and Fischer 344 rats.

Fischer 344 (F344) and Lewis (LEW) rats are inbred strains that are differentially sensitive to drugs of abuse and that respond differently to the endogenous neuropeptide neurotensin (NT). To understand the mechanisms involved we used whole cell patch clamp recording technique to study the effects of an equimolar concentration of NT and its active analog, d-Tyr[11]neurotensin (d-NT), on the amplitude and frequency of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) in nucleus accumbens medium spiny (MS) neurons in brain slices. NT and d-NT produced an increase in the amplitude but not in the frequency of sEPSCs in all neurons tested in both F344 and LEW rats.

Evening vs. morning wake EEG activity in adolescents with anxiety disorders.

Unlabelled: Adolescents with anxiety disorders often report sleep disturbance. To dissociate the effects of both sets of symptoms (anxiety vs. sleep disturbances) on clinical markers we recorded evening and morning wake EEG activity in 13 anxious adolescents without sleep complaints and compared results to 15 matched healthy controls.

Postnatal development of excitatory postsynaptic currents in nucleus accumbens medium spiny neurons.

We have recorded excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) evoked by local electrical stimulation in 243 nucleus accumbens (nAcb) neurons in vitro during postnatal development from the day of birth (postnatal day 0; P0) to P27 and in young adults rats (P59-P71). An EPSC sensitive to glutamatergic antagonists was found in all neurons. In the majority of cases (189/243), the EPSC had two distinct components: an early one sensitive to 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX) and a late one that was sensitive to D-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (APV) showing that early and late components of the EPSC were mediated by AMPA/kainate (KA) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors respectively.

When doubting begins: exploring inductive reasoning in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that inductive reasoning plays a role in obsessional doubting by comparing an OCD sample with a non-OCD control group in performance of an inductive reasoning task. The 'Reasoning with Inductive Arguments Task' (RIAT) measures inductive performance using arguments drawn from both given vs. self-generated sources and containing neutral vs.

Regionalised tertiary psychiatric residential facilities.

Aims: Psychiatric hospitals remain the main venue for long-term mental health care and, despite widespread closures and downsizing, no country that built asylums in the last century has done away with them entirely--with the recent exception of Italy. Differentiated community-based residential alternatives have been developed over the past decades, with staffing levels that range from full-time professional, to daytime only, to part-time/on-call.

Methods: This paper reviews the characteristics of community-based psychiatric residential care facilities as an alternative to long-term care in psychiatric hospitals.

Bioluminescence resonance energy transfer assays reveal ligand-specific conformational changes within preformed signaling complexes containing delta-opioid receptors and heterotrimeric G proteins.

Heptahelical receptors communicate extracellular information to the cytosolic compartment by binding an extensive variety of ligands. They do so through conformational changes that propagate to intracellular signaling partners as the receptor switches from a resting to an active conformation. This active state has been classically considered unique and responsible for regulation of all signaling pathways controlled by a receptor.

Further evidence for an antidepressant potential of the selective sigma1 agonist SA 4503: electrophysiological, morphological and behavioural studies.

In this study, we evaluated the ability of the selective sigma1 agonist SA 4503 to produce changes in brain function, similar to those elicited by classical antidepressants. We focused more specifically on the influence of SA 4503 on central serotonergic (5-HT) transmission, and on hippocampal cell proliferation. A 2-d continuous treatment with SA 4503 (1-40 mg/kg.

REM sleep EEG spectral analysis in patients with first-episode schizophrenia.

The pathophysiology of schizophrenia includes abnormalities in subcortical-cortical transfer of information that can be studied using REM sleep EEG spectral analysis, a measure that reflects spontaneous and endogenous thalamocortical activity. We recorded 10 patients with first-episode schizophrenia and 30 healthy controls for two consecutive nights in a sleep laboratory, using a 10-electrode EEG montage. Sixty seconds of REM sleep EEG without artifact were analyzed using FFT spectral analysis.

Influence of comorbid obsessive-compulsive symptoms on brain event-related potentials in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.

Approximately 30 to 50% of people suffering from Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome (GTS) also fulfill diagnostic criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Despite this high degree of comorbidity, very few studies have addressed the question of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) in GTS patients using specific brain event-related potentials (ERP) responses. The aim of the current study was to quantify neurocognitive aspects of comorbidity, using ERPs.

[Sexual dismorphism in schizophrenia].

Recent neuroanatomical studies imply a reversal of normal sexual dimorphism in schizophrenia in several corticolimbic structures, including the anterior cingulate, orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala. Prompted by these reports we have analyzed data of fifteen men and ten women with the diagnosis of schizophrenia who underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during exposure to two emotion processing tasks. Overall both tests evoked much more extensive and intense cerebral activations in men than in women with schizophrenia.

[Programs for first onset psychosis and evidence-based medicine: a case of the syndrome of the emperor's new clothes].

In this essay, the author states that the first onset psychoses clinics described in many articles of this special issue of Santé mentale au Québec are not as evidence-based than the enthusiasm of its promoters would lend to believe. Using three stories based on observations made recently in Quebec where the argument of evidence-based support was brought, it will be illustrated how groups, their interventions and programs positioned themselves to their advantage..

[On the front line: survey on shared responsibility. General practitioners and schizophrenia].

Context: General practitioners (GP) play a preponderant role in the treatment of patients suffering of schizophrenia.

Objectives: Discovering the number of patients with schizophrenia who are treated by GPs ; the needs and attitudes of GPs, their knowledge concerning diagnosis, and the treatment they provide.

Methodology: A postal survey was conducted with Quebec GPs who were randomly chosen.

[Kitchen and schizophrenia: a crossroad activity of an ecological, occupational and neuropsychological assessment].

In this exploratory study, the authors examine the various occupational and neuropsychological assessments used to analyze deficits qualitatively and quantitatively in patients with schizophrenia. Considering that it is necessary to further explore their repercussion on the performance of activity of daily living (ADL) and domestic activities (DA), they thus attempt to verify if the distinction between two levels of functional autonomy could translate at the cognitive and clinical levels in (25) 23 patients included in a program destined to young adults (schizophrenia spectrum DSM-IV criteria) in Montréal. These patients had the opportunity, within the clinical program, to submit to neuropsychological evaluations as well as evaluations offered by the occupational therapy service thanks to a tool frequently used by occupational therapists entitled Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS).

Event-related potentials differentiates the processes involved in the effects of sleep on recognition memory.

This study examined the role of sleep on event-related potential (ERP) indicators of memory following sleep and wake. We expected a larger ERP effect due to a facilitory effect of sleep on memory. During the study session, subjects memorized a series of stimuli (faces).