Social Psychopathology Research Articles

Insidious Trauma – Between the Political and the Psychoanalytical

The article attempts to understand the affliction known as insidious trauma and its link to social and political situations. The medical establishment finds itself hard pressed to provide an adequate response to traumas of social and political origin, rooted in oppressive regimes or environments. To the best of our knowledge the psycho-political model of recovery should take into account active resistance on the part of the individual suffering from insidious trauma. Subjectivity that is exposed to insidious trauma, but is not at the same time exposed to representations of resistance, remains external to the discourse. By assigning a name, a language and a voice to insidious trauma, the discourse is shifted from intrapsychic psychopathology to social psychopathology, thereby imparting to it both a social and a political context.

Brazil: hate and intolerance in times of pandemic in a mixed-race country.

This paper intends to analyse the current political and social situation in Brazil and show how this context has influenced the management of the public health crisis generated by the COVID‐19 pandemic. To this end, the authors conducted an investigation into Brazil’s historical roots, which have not only engendered deep class differences but, also, social psychopathologies such as dissociation and perversion. Finally, this paper presents a symbolic analysis of social exclusion and how the mythical figure of Sophia can inspire a renewed movement of inclusion and tolerance.

On social psychopathology: Example with German justice

IntroductionINTRODUCTION-OBJECTIVES. Similar to philosophy (regina-scientiarum) is psychiatry fundamental-discipline for all-medical&social sciences. Immanuel KANT: Primus inter pares of ARISTOTELES&PLATON considered over 200years ago physiological and pragmatic anthropology-[1]. Social physiology is given-[3-4]. Consideration of social-psychopathology in German-justice-[2].Objectives REFERENCES. [1]-Kant,I: BdXI,371-393, BdXII,399,625-638:Suhrkamp-TB-Wiss. [2]-Neu,E/Michailov, M.Ch/Welscher,U/et-al.: 2a.-FISP-2018-Beijing/Philos (1348-50,1373-4,1420); 2013-Athens Abstr.Book(AB):464-5/503-4/766; 2008-Seoul-ProcVol.4: 101-108/195-214/229-237; 2003-Istanbul:273-281; IVR-2019-Luzern (Law), Progr-Book p.116. 2b.-EPA-2020-Madrid, Eur.Psychiatry 63S, EPP0834/5+EPV0581/1470; EPA-2019-Warsaw, 56S,S689; EPA-2018-Nice, 48/S1, S623&567&662. 2c.-WPA-2021-Bangkok (in-press). 2019-Lisbon, E-Poster WCP19-2137/-1822/-1839. 2018-Mexico-City, Abs.-Book WCP18-0584/-0625/-0643/-0654. 2011-Buenos-Aires, AB:PO1.200. [3]-Glasachev,O: Sechenov Physiol.J 80/no5, 1994,p.139-143 (Russian), ref. in English. [4]-Seeley,T.D: Social-Physiology Honey-Bee, Book-1996.Methods[5]-Daily-journal-“tz”-München, esp. every Tuesday 2016-2019: reports on Res.-Houses,e.g. 14.02.2019, 15.02.17, 06.12.16/p.10, 18.10.16/p.10, 17.11.2020/p.6. Süddt.Zeitung-München no172/p.30,2017. Mü.-Merkur:16.11.2020/p.32; 19.11.2020/p.29. FAZ:20.10.2019/p.53; 16.11.2020/p.21. BUROW,P: Justiz am Abgrund&Ein Richter klagt an. GNISA,J, Präs.-Dt.Richterverein: „Ende der Gerechtigkeit“, Herder-2017. SCHLEIF,T/Amtsrichter: Buch „Urteil: ungerecht“, zeit-online 24.10.2019. Hans-Jochen&Liselotte VOGEL:„Mehr Gerechtigkeit“, 2019 „Wohn-Irrsinn“(Enteignungen). ZANTKE,S (Richter-Amtsgericht-Zwickau): TV-Programm„Auf einen Blick“ Nr.47,2018,S.24. [6]-Luetge,Ch et-al.(ed): Experimental-Ethics, Palgrave-Macmillan 2014. [7]-Pegoraro,R/Vatican: «Arzt&Christ» 38:3-55,1992.ResultsRESULTS Prominent German experts for justice: Patrick BUROW, Jens GNISA/President Law-Association/Germany, Torsten SCHLEIF/Amtsrichter, Hans-Jochen VOGEL/Ex-Minister, Stephan ZANTKE/Richter reflect in their books fundamental-criticism of German justice [5]. Inst.-Ecol.-Med./IUM investigated psychopathology of juridical-offices&law-court in Munich (Amtsgericht). Analysis suggests presence of symptoms for pseudologia-phantastica, psychopathy, cyclophrenia (esp.mania),etc. conc. observations on many persons (n>30).ConclusionsCONCLUSION. Juridical situation in Germany demonstrates contradiction to human-rights (EU-CHARTA, art.1-8/25-26/33-35), ignoring moral-philosophy, related to human obligations/I.Kant-[1], experimental ethics/Ch.Luetge et-al.-[6], medical personnel/R.Pegoraro-[7]. Only paradigm change in law-policy incl. enlarged implication of moral philosophy-theology, psychiatry-psychology, social philosophy in juridical eduction & practices could counteract disastrous juridical situation in Germany and on global level, supporting UNO-AGENDA21 for better education-health-ecology-economy (see 2.).DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Premature Birth and Developmental Programming: Mechanisms of Resilience and Vulnerability.

The third trimester of pregnancy represents a sensitive phase for infant brain plasticity when a series of fast-developing cellular events (synaptogenesis, neuronal migration, and myelination) regulates the development of neural circuits. Throughout this dynamic period of growth and development, the human brain is susceptible to stress. Preterm infants are born with an immature brain and are, while admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit, precociously exposed to stressful procedures. Postnatal stress may contribute to altered programming of the brain, including key systems such as the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and the autonomic nervous system. These neurobiological systems are promising markers for the etiology of several affective and social psychopathologies. As preterm birth interferes with early development of stress-regulatory systems, early interventions might strengthen resilience factors and might help reduce the detrimental effects of chronic stress exposure. Here we will review the impact of stress following premature birth on the programming of neurobiological systems and discuss possible stress-related neural circuits and pathways involved in resilience and vulnerability. Finally, we discuss opportunities for early intervention and future studies.

Improving emotional-action control by targeting long-range phase-amplitude neuronal coupling.

Control over emotional action tendencies is essential for everyday interactions. This cognitive function fails occasionally during socially challenging situations, and systematically in social psychopathologies. We delivered dual-site phase-coupled brain stimulation to facilitate theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling between frontal regions known to implement that form of control, while neuropsychologically healthy human male participants were challenged to control their automatic action tendencies in a social-emotional approach/avoidance-task. Participants had increased control over their emotional action tendencies, depending on the relative phase and dose of the intervention. Concurrently measured fMRI effects of task and stimulation indicated that the intervention improved control by increasing the efficacy of anterior prefrontal inhibition over the sensorimotor cortex. This enhancement of emotional action control provides causal evidence for phase-amplitude coupling mechanisms guiding action selection during emotional-action control. Generally, the finding illustrates the potential of physiologically-grounded interventions aimed at reducing neural noise in cerebral circuits where communication relies on phase-amplitude coupling.

Owning our madness: Contributions of Jamaican psychiatry to decolonizing Global Mental Health.

The contentious debate on evidence-based Global Mental Health care is challenged by the primary mental health program of Jamaica. Political independence in 1962 ushered in the postcolonial Jamaican Government and the deinstitutionalization of the country's only mental hospital along with a plethora of mental health public policy innovations. The training locally of mental health professionals catalyzed institutional change. The mental health challenge for descendants of African people enslaved in Jamaica is to reverse the psychological impact of 500 years of European racism and colonial oppression and create a blueprint for the decolonization of GMH. The core innovations were the gradual downsizing and dismantling of the colonial mental hospital and the establishment of a novel community mental health initiative. The successful management of acute psychosis in open medical wards of general hospitals and a Diversion at the Point of Arrest Programme (DAPA) resulted in the reduction of stigma and the assimilation of mental health care into medicine in Jamaica. Successful decentralization has led to unmasking underlying social psychopathology and the subsequent development of primary prevention therapeutic programs based on psychohistoriographic cultural therapy and the Dream-A-World Cultural Therapy interventions. The Jamaican experience suggests that diversity in GMH must be approached not simply as a demographic fact but with postcolonial strategies that counter the historical legacy of structural violence.

S.03.01 - Neuro-endocrine control mechanisms in social motivational actions, relevance for social psychopathologies

S.03.01 - Neuro-endocrine control mechanisms in social motivational actions, relevance for social psychopathologies

On the Control of Social Approach-Avoidance Behavior: Neural and Endocrine Mechanisms.

The ability to control our automatic action tendencies is crucial for adequate social interactions. Emotional events trigger automatic approach and avoidance tendencies. Although these actions may be generally adaptive, the capacity to override these emotional reactions may be key to flexible behavior during social interaction. The present chapter provides a review of the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying this ability and their relation to social psychopathologies. Aberrant social behavior, such as observed in social anxiety or psychopathy, is marked by abnormalities in approach-avoidance tendencies and the ability to control them. Key neural regions involved in the regulation of approach-avoidance behavior are the amygdala, widely implicated in automatic emotional processing, and the anterior prefrontal cortex, which exerts control over the amygdala. Hormones, especially testosterone and cortisol, have been shown to affect approach-avoidance behavior and the associated neural mechanisms. The present chapter also discusses ways to directly influence social approach and avoidance behavior and will end with a research agenda to further advance this important research field. Control over approach-avoidance tendencies may serve as an exemplar of emotional action regulation and might have a great value in understanding the underlying mechanisms of the development of affective disorders.

Reduced Serotonin Transporter Availability Decreases Prefrontal Control of the Amygdala

After a threatening event, the risk of developing social psychopathologies is increased in short-allele (s) carriers of the serotonin transporter gene. The amygdala becomes overresponsive to emotional stimuli, an effect that could be driven by local hypersensitivity or by reduced prefrontal regulation. This study distinguishes between these two hypotheses by using dynamic causal modeling of fMRI data acquired in a preselected cohort of human s-carriers and homozygous long-allele carriers. Increased amygdala activity in s-carriers originates from reduced prefrontal inhibitory regulation when social emotional behavior needs to be controlled, suggesting a mechanism for increased vulnerability to psychopathologies.

Sexually dimorphic effects of a prenatal immune challenge on social play and vasopressin expression in juvenile rats

BackgroundInfectious diseases and inflammation during pregnancy increase the offspring’s risk for behavioral disorders. However, how immune stress affects neural circuitry during development is not well known. We tested whether a prenatal immune challenge interferes with the development of social play and with neural circuits implicated in social behavior.MethodsPregnant rats were given intraperitoneal injections of the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS – 100 μg /kg) or saline on the 15th day of pregnancy. Offspring were tested for social play behaviors between postnatal days 26–40. Brains were harvested on postnatal day 45 and processed for arginine vasopressin (AVP) mRNA in situ hybridization.ResultsIn males, LPS treatment reduced the frequency of juvenile play behavior and reduced AVP mRNA expression in the medial amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. These effects were not found in females. LPS treatment did not change AVP mRNA expression in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, paraventricular nucleus, or supraoptic nucleus of either sex, nor did it affect the sex difference in the size of the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area.ConclusionsGiven AVP’s central role in regulating social behavior, the sexually dimorphic effects of prenatal LPS treatment on male AVP mRNA expression may contribute to the sexually dimorphic effect of LPS on male social play and may, therefore, increase understanding of factors that contribute to sex differences in social psychopathology.

Assessment of Social Interaction Behaviors

Social interactions are a fundamental and adaptive component of the biology of numerous species. Social recognition is critical for the structure and stability of the networks and relationships that define societies. For animals, such as mice, recognition of conspecifics may be important for maintaining social hierarchy and for mate choice 1.A variety of neuropsychiatric disorders are characterized by disruptions in social behavior and social recognition, including depression, autism spectrum disorders, bipolar disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and schizophrenia. Studies of humans as well as animal models (e.g., Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus) have identified genes involved in the regulation of social behavior 2. To assess sociability in animal models, several behavioral tests have been developed (reviewed in 3). Integrative research using animal models and appropriate tests for social behavior may lead to the development of improved treatments for social psychopathologies.The three-chamber paradigm test known as Crawley's sociability and preference for social novelty protocol has been successfully employed to study social affiliation and social memory in several inbred and mutant mouse lines (e.g. 4-7). The main principle of this test is based on the free choice by a subject mouse to spend time in any of three box's compartments during two experimental sessions, including indirect contact with one or two mice with which it is unfamiliar. To quantitate social tendencies of the experimental mouse, the main tasks are to measure a) the time spent with a novel conspecific and b) preference for a novel vs. a familiar conspecific. Thus, the experimental design of this test allows evaluation of two critical but distinguishable aspects of social behavior, such as social affiliation/motivation, as well as social memory and novelty. "Sociability" in this case is defined as propensity to spend time with another mouse, as compared to time spent alone in an identical but empty chamber 7. "Preference for social novelty" is defined as propensity to spend time with a previously unencountered mouse rather than with a familiar mouse 7. This test provides robust results, which then must be carefully analyzed, interpreted and supported/confirmed by alternative sociability tests. In addition to specific applications, Crawley's sociability test can be included as an important component of general behavioral screen of mutant mice.

Assessment of Social Interaction Behaviors

Social interactions are a fundamental and adaptive component of the biology of numerous species. Social recognition is critical for the structure and stability of the networks and relationships that define societies. For animals, such as mice, recognition of conspecifics may be important for maintaining social hierarchy and for mate choice 1. A variety of neuropsychiatric disorders are characterized by disruptions in social behavior and social recognition, including depression, autism spectrum disorders, bipolar disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and schizophrenia. Studies of humans as well as animal models (e.g., Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus) have identified genes involved in the regulation of social behavior 2. To assess sociability in animal models, several behavioral tests have been developed (reviewed in 3). Integrative research using animal models and appropriate tests for social behavior may lead to the development of improved treatments for social psychopathologies. The three-chamber paradigm test known as Crawley's sociability and preference for social novelty protocol has been successfully employed to study social affiliation and social memory in several inbred and mutant mouse lines (e.g. 4-7). The main principle of this test is based on the free choice by a subject mouse to spend time in any of three box's compartments during two experimental sessions, including indirect contact with one or two mice with which it is unfamiliar. To quantitate social tendencies of the experimental mouse, the main tasks are to measure a) the time spent with a novel conspecific and b) preference for a novel vs. a familiar conspecific. Thus, the experimental design of this test allows evaluation of two critical but distinguishable aspects of social behavior, such as social affiliation/motivation, as well as social memory and novelty. "Sociability" in this case is defined as propensity to spend time with another mouse, as compared to time spent alone in an identical but empty chamber 7. "Preference for social novelty" is defined as propensity to spend time with a previously unencountered mouse rather than with a familiar mouse 7. This test provides robust results, which then must be carefully analyzed, interpreted and supported/confirmed by alternative sociability tests. In addition to specific applications, Crawley's sociability test can be included as an important component of general behavioral screen of mutant mice.

Failure to forgive self and others: a replication and extension of the relationship between forgiveness, personality, social desirability and general health

The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between forgiveness of self, forgiveness of others, and personality and general health measures. Three hundred and twenty-four undergraduate students (100 males, 224 females) completed measures of forgiveness of oneself, forgiveness of others, the Abbreviated form of the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and the General Health Questionnaire-28. Failure to forgive oneself is accompanied by personality and general health scores that reflect individual psychopathology, with men and women scoring higher in neuroticism, depression and anxiety. A failure to forgive others is accompanied by personality and general health scores that reflect social introversion among men (low extraversion scores) and social-pathology among women (social dysfunction, psychoticism). Further, a failure to forgive others is accompanied by higher depression scores among men and women. The findings suggest that the concept of forgiveness can be related to individual and social psychopathology.

Diagnosing Deficits in “Basic Trust” in Multiracial and Multicultural Groups: Individual or Social Psychopathology?

Deficiencies in “basic trust” frequently undermine the efficacy of group therapy in multiracial and multicultural groups. It is necessary to distinguish trust deficits caused by individual psychopathology, societal attitudes (“cultural pathology”), or a combination of both. A typology for classifying self-disclosure problems in multicultural and multiracial groups is presented, and illustrated with case material: Mode A, “Good enough trust,” allows patient self-disclosure in multicultural groups; Mode B, Low level of cultural paranoia and high level of functional paranoia; Mode C, Culturally paranoid individual can self-disclose in culturally homogeneous group but mistrusts outsiders; Mode D, Confluent paranoid has high levels of both functional and cultural paranoia. For Modes C and D, it is crucial that experiences of bias be acknowledged and empathized with first before patients will be able to achieve good enough trust to risk self-disclosure. The ethnic composition of the group must be attended to in the placement of these patients. Hospital (inpatient) groups are especially likely to have problems with “basic trust.” The role of the leader in demonstrating empathy, tolerance, racial sensitivity, and appropriate self-disclosure is emphasized. Cultural awareness training, a personal group therapy experience for the therapist, and the use of co-therapists are recommended as ways of minimizing negative countertransference or cultural bias on the part of the leader.

Les Amérindiens de Camopi : de l'alcoolisation au musée ou l'itinéraire d'une acculturation

Camopi Amerindians : from alcohol to the museum. The itinerary of acculturation. This article attempts to show that the consumption of alcohol among Camopi Amerindians is really a social psychopathology which is linked with an acculturation process already in progress in the minds of the individuals, even if amerindian forms of culture seem to remain intact. then it is a sort of underhand acculturation whose logic is, in the end, understood through the project to create a museum which will reserve an extensive area for Amerindian cultures.

Personal and social psychopathology and the primary prevention of violence.

Children reared with love and respect mature adequately and become loving, responsible, and productive spouses, parents, and citizens. Those reared in such a way that they hate their parents will also hate other persons for life. If repressed, this pathological hostility causes neuroses; if it is acted out, it results in crime, tyranny, revolution, and aggressive war. The author believes that this kind of individual is the primary cause of violence in the world today.

Marriage and Mental Disease: a Study in Social Psychopathology

The problem of mental disease has been approached in many different ways, and chemical, anatomical, biological and psychological methods have been employed. In certain cases it has been possible to obtain satisfactory results by the use of one isolated method: the serological and anatomical approach has given us a useful solution to the problem of general paresis; the genetic approach has been equally useful in the study of mental deficiency. Such great results may explain the prevailing tendency in psychiatric research to attack all the problems of mental disease by the systematic use of one single method, in the hope that the final result is only a matter of time and of technical refinement. One author believes in the anatomical approach, another in the chemical; and there is a tendency to exclude other” methods, in the belief that they cannot give results of basic importance. Psychiatry also has its eclectics, but generally the most intensive research work is carried out by the various “schools,” and with a definite exclusiveness of methods.