Changes in the neuropsychological correlates of clinical dimensions between the acute and stable phase of schizophrenia

This study was designed to investigate whether the neuropsychological correlates of the symptom dimensions of schizophrenia vary with the clinical state in patients followed from the acute to stable the phase of the illness. Fifteen patients were assessed for symptoms (SAPS-SANS) and undergone a complete neuropsychological assessment at two sessions. The first session (S1) was carried out within six days after admission, i.e., acute phase and the second (S2) at least two month after hospitalization, i.e., stable phase. The data were analyzed using stepwise regression models in which neuropsychological scores were in entered to predict each dimensional score. This analysis was applied on the S1 and S2 data as well as on the S2-S1 difference to assess the neuropsychological predictors of clinical changes. Generally, the results replicate the previous associations between neuropsychological and dimensional measures found in stable patients. In addition, this study shows if each dimension appears to rely on a key structure, symptom variations seems to involve changes in the spread of the dysfunction and/or changes in the connectivity between the key and other regions. The results also suggest that functional changes related to some symptoms dimensions occur to compensate for the dysfunction associated with other symptoms.     

The fate of redundant cues during blocking and a simple discrimination

In each of three experiments animals received blocking, A+ AX+, in which food was always presented after one stimulus, A, that was occasionally accompanied by another stimulus, X. They also received a simple discrimination, AX+ BX-, in which the presence and absence of food was signaled by two compounds that contained one unique cue, A or B, and one common cue, X. In each of these designs, X can be said to be redundant relative to A as a signal for food. Test trials at the end of training revealed that responding during X was stronger after blocking than after the simple discrimination. These results contradict predictions from theories of learning that assume changes in associative strength of a stimulus are determined by a global error term based on the outcome predicted by all the stimuli that are present for a conditioning trial. The results are interpreted, instead, by assuming either that animals store a memory of every trial to which they have been exposed, or that learning is governed by an error term based on the significance of individual stimuli.     

Predictors of quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction in individuals living with HIV and AIDS in a resource-constrained setting in South Africa

The burden of HIV disease is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in South Africa (SA). Whilst there have been many studies conducted on the biomedical and socio-psychological aspects of HIV and AIDS, insufficient attention has been paid to the quality of life of those infected with the virus. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the predictors of quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction (Q-LES) among individuals infected with HIV. A battery of questionnaires, which included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q), were administered to 121 participants. Data was analysed using SPSS. Of the total sample (n = 121), 74% were females. The study found that a large proportion (49.5%) of the sample within the age group 25–49 years old experienced psychological distress. Those who were not on antiretroviral treatment (ART) were significantly affected (66%). Psychological distress was significantly prevalent among HIV positive individuals and also the strongest predictor of Q-LES among these individuals.     

Cognitive Factors in Fibromyalgia: The Role of Self-Concept and Identity Related Conflicts

Fibromyalgia is a syndrome characterized by the presence of diffuse and chronic musculoskeletal pain of unknown etiology. Clinical diagnosis and the merely palliative treatments considerably affect the patient's experience and the chronic course of the disease. Therefore, several authors have emphasized the need to explore issues related to self in these patients. The repertory grid technique (RGT), derived from personal construct theory, is a method designed to assess the patient's construction of self and others. A group of women with fibromyalgia (n = 30) and a control group (n = 30) were assessed using RGT. Women with fibromyalgia also completed the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and a visualanalogue scale for pain, and painful tender points were explored. Results suggest that these women had a higher present self-ideal self discrepancy and a lower perceived adequacy of others, and it was more likely to find implicative dilemmas among them compared to controls. These dilemmas are a type of cognitive conflict in which the symptom is construed as "enmeshed" with positive characteristics of the self. Finally, implications of these results for the psychological treatment of fibromyalgia are suggested to give a more central role to self-identity issues and to the related cognitive conflicts.     

The effects of total sleep deprivation on recognition memory processes: A study of event-related potential

This study examined the memorization of information after a night of normal sleep and total sleep deprivation (TSD) by means of event-related potentials (ERPs). We expected a disfacilitatory effect of TSD on memory processing. Eighteen subjects were tested twice in a counterbalanced fashion. During the study session, subjects were presented with unfamiliar face stimuli and asked to memorize them for a subsequent memory test. At the test session, the subjects were presented with the studied faces intermixed with “new” faces and asked to indicate the previously presented stimuli. The N100 was used as a covariate to control for the differences in level of vigilance between the two sessions. Sleep deprivation decreased subjects’ ability to discriminate new from previously studied stimuli and decreased the peak amplitude of the early component (N200) to the decrement of performance. In addition, following TSD the amplitude of the late frontal component (LFC), which is thought to reflect contextual processing, was decreased in covariance with the N100 vigilance component. The amplitude of the late posterior component (LPC/P600) was also reduced but was unrelated to the vigilance component of the ERP. Based on prior studies, this LPC reduction can be interpreted to indicate a decrease in information retrieved after TSD. In summary, a night of TSD decreased the amplitude of the ERPs associated with complex episodic memory task stimuli, affected the frontal cortex during episodic retrieval, and prevented the elaboration process. Furthermore, there was an inability to discriminate what is and what is not in memory, possibly due to less local processing of details.     

Gender differences in memory processing: evidence from event-related potentials to faces

This study investigated gender differences on memory processing using event-related potentials (ERPs). Behavioral data and ERPs were recorded in 16 males and 10 females during a recognition memory task for faces. The behavioral data results showed that females performed better than males. Gender differences on ERPs were evidenced over anterior locations and involve the modulation of two spatially and temporally distinct components. These results are in general accordance with the view that males and females differ in the cognitive strategies they use to process information. Specifically, they could differ in their abilities to maintain information over interference and in the processing of the intrinsic contextual attributes of items, respectively, associated with the modulation of two anterior components. These interpretations lend support to the view that processing in females entails more detailed elaboration of information content than in males. Processing in males is more likely driven by schemas or overall information theme.     

Dialogue and Dominance in Couple Therapy for Depression: Exploring Therapists’ Responses in Creating Collaborative Moments

Previous investigations have found specific communication patterns in couples dealing with depression, specifically when depression concurs with conjugal conflicts. The presence of these patterns can reflect couples’ difficulties in engaging in collaborative communication during their sessions, posing a real challenge for therapists. This exploratory study uses a dialogical approach to examine issues of dominance and type of dialogue in two couples who differed in terms of their levels of dyadic adjustment. The therapists’ reactions were explored in order to detect the kinds of responses that were most effective at engendering a collaborative attitude in therapy sessions. The method used to analyze the dialogue was Dialogical Investigations of Happenings of Change (DIHC). Results on dominance indicated that the degree of quantitative and semantic dominance displayed by a different member of the couple in each case was illustrative of their relational dynamics, while in both cases interactional dominance was exercised by the therapists. Results on dialogue revealed that dialogic dialogue might help to coconstruct new shared meanings of depression. The findings indicated that certain responses by therapists as part of the dialogue could be useful in bringing about a reduction in hostility between the members of a couple, provided that the responses are maintained over the course of the session. Some research and clinical implications that emerge from the results are discussed.     

Neuropsychological impairments in the syndromes of schizophrenia: a comparison between different dimensional models

This study investigates the associations between the different symptom dimensions of schizophrenia and neuropsychological performances. Globally, the results replicate previously described associations. The "negative" dimension correlates with impaired sustained attention and working memory, thus suggestive of dorsolateral frontal cortex dysfunction. "Disorganization" correlates with the ability to inhibit proactive interference. thus with ventromedial frontal dysfunction. The results also add support to the view that the "psychotic" dimension described in three-dimension models includes in fact two distinct dimensions, (1) "hallucinations," here associated to episodic memory measures, and (2) "delusions", here associated to visuospatial attention, thus suggestive of mediotemporal and posterior neocortical dysfunction, respectively.     

Change in Symptoms and Personal Construct Structure in Anxiety Disorders: A Preliminary Study on the Effects of Constructivist Therapy

In recent years, constructivist psychotherapy has evolved as a plausible treatment for different disorders. The present study aimed to explore the effectiveness of this therapy in terms of symptom improvement and changes in the personal construct system. Forty-seven anxiety clients received brief integrative constructivist therapy. Scores on symptom and personal construct measures decreased after the treatment, but not all of them showed a statistically significant change. The percentage of clients with implicative dilemmas decreased after psychotherapy. The results provide preliminary support for the effectiveness of brief constructivist psychotherapy as a treatment for anxiety disorders in primary care services. Several limitations are acknowledged. Further controlled research is needed.