Subclinical Positive Symptoms Research Articles

The relationship between perceived family support and subclinical positive symptoms of psychosis among Black college students.

Black individuals in the Unites States endure compounded and unique experiences of discrimination and structural racism that may not be as overtly evident in other countries. These distinctive forms of discrimination and racism can impact the mental health of Black individuals in the Unites States, in this case, their risk for psychosis. Adolescence and early adulthood are vulnerable periods in life where mental illness typically begins to manifest. Understanding the factors contributing to an increased likelihood of specific mental illnesses, such as psychosis, among youth in these vulnerable periods can inform intervention development. This is particularly important for those from minoritized backgrounds Unites States; this group is especially important to study given that Black American youth tend to experience higher psychosis rates and different symptom presentations than non-Black groups. This study examined the associations between perceived family support, a critical environmental factor known to be associated with full-psychosis, and attenuated positive symptoms and distress levels in a sample of 155 Black students from a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). Participants completed the Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief that assessed psychosis risk and the Family Environment Scale that assessed three dimensions of family support (family cohesion, expressiveness, and conflict). Positive symptom intensity (r = .30, p < .001) and distress (r = .34, p < .001) were significantly associated with higher family conflict for Black individuals in the Unites States. The findings inform novel intervention targets for psychoeducation and family therapy that have potential to reduce psychosis risk.

A network analysis of anxiety, depressive, and psychotic symptoms and functioning in children and adolescents at clinical high risk for psychosis.

Youths at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P) are characterized by a high prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders. The present study aimed at developing and analyzing a network structure of CHR-P symptom domains (i.e., positive, negative, disorganization, and general subclinical psychotic symptoms), depressive and anxiety symptoms, and general functioning. Network analysis was applied to data on 111 CHR-P children and adolescents (M age = 14.1), who were assessed using the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes, the Children's Depression Inventory, the Children's Global Assessment Scale, and the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children. In the network, negative and disorganization symptoms showed the strongest association (r = 0.71), and depressive and anxiety symptoms showed dense within-domain connections, with a main bridging role played by physical symptoms of anxiety. The positive symptom cluster was not associated with any other node. The network stability coefficient (CS) was slightly below 0.25, and observed correlations observed ranged from 0.35 to 0.71. The lack of association between subclinical positive symptoms and other network variables confirmed the independent nature of subclinical positive symptoms from comorbid symptoms, which were found to play a central role in the analyzed network. Complex interventions should be developed to target positive and comorbid symptoms, prioritizing those with the most significant impact on functioning and the most relevance for the young individual, through a shared decision-making process. Importantly, the results suggest that negative and disorganization symptoms, as well as depressive and anxiety symptoms, may be targeted simultaneously.

Integrating trauma, self-disturbances, cognitive biases, and personality into a model for the risk of psychosis: a longitudinal study in a non-clinical sample

The hypothesis of the psychosis continuum enables to study the mechanisms of psychosis risk not only in clinical samples but in non-clinical as well. The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate self-disturbances (SD), a risk factor that has attracted substantial interest over the last two decades, in combination with trauma, cognitive biases and personality, and to test whether SD are associated with subclinical positive symptoms (PS) over a 12-month follow-up period. Our study was conducted in a non-clinical sample of 139 Polish young adults (81 females, age M = 25.32, SD = 4.51) who were selected for frequent experience of subclinical PS. Participants completed self-report questionnaires for the evaluation of SD (IPASE), trauma (CECA.Q), cognitive biases (DACOBS) and personality (TCI), and were interviewed for subclinical PS (CAARMS). SD and subclinical PS were re-assessed 12 months after baseline measurement. The hypothesized model for psychosis risk was tested using path analysis. The change in SD and subclinical PS over the 12-month period was investigated with non-parametric equivalent of dependent sample t-tests. The models with self-transcendence (ST) and harm avoidance (HA) as personality variables were found to be well-fitted and explained 34% of the variance in subclinical PS at follow-up. Moreover, we found a significant reduction of SD and subclinical PS after 12 months. Our study suggests that combining trauma, cognitive biases, SD and personality traits such as ST and HA into one model can enhance our understanding of appearance as well as maintenance of subclinical PS.

The Relationships Between Childhood Abuse and Neglect, Sub-clinical Symptoms of Psychosis and Self-harm in a Non-clinical Community Sample.

There is now substantial evidence that childhood adverse events are a significant risk factor for symptoms of psychosis in both clinical and community samples. Both childhood trauma and positive symptoms of psychosis are associated with an increased risk of self-harming behaviours. Therefore the current study aimed to consider the relationship between retrospective reports of childhood adversity, sub-clinical positive symptoms of psychosis and self-harm in a non-clinical community sample. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design, distributed online. Participants were asked to complete psychometric assessments relating to: demographic characteristics including past-year substance misuse; childhood adversity; sub-clinical symptoms of psychosis (delusions and hallucinations) and self-harming behaviours. The results found that, after controlling for substance misuse, childhood adversity predicted significant variance in sub-clinical delusions and hallucinations in the general population. Both symptoms of psychosis and childhood adversity increased the risk of self-harming behaviours. Positive symptoms partially mediated the relationship between early adversity and self-harming behaviours. For some people, the sequelae of early adversity including sub-clinical delusions and hallucinations may increase the risk of self-harming behaviours. Future research would benefit from considering the role of dissociation in these relationships and the affective impact of pseudo-psychotic experiences. Practitioners should consider the impact of childhood adversity, unusual perceptual experiences and distorted beliefs when working with people who self-harm. The current research was limited by the cross-sectional survey design and non-random sampling methodology.

Linking psychophysiological adaptation, emotion regulation, and subjective stress to the occurrence of paranoia in daily life

As stress is relevant to the formation of paranoia, maladaptive behavioral and physiological stress regulation is discussed as a crucial indicator of vulnerability. This is supported by research linking psychosis to the tendency to make less use of functional and more use of dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies (ER) and with a lower vagally-mediated heart rate variability (HRV). However, it remains unclear whether ER serves as a mediator between resting-state HRV on the one hand and subjective stress levels and paranoia on the other and whether this is specific to paranoia as compared to depression. We used an experience sampling method during seven days to repeatedly assess the experience of stress, usage of ER strategies, paranoia und depression (9/day) in a sample with subclinical positive symptoms (N = 32). Resting-state HRV was measured during a 5min interval in the laboratory. Data was analyzed by multi-level models. Higher resting-state HRV was predictive of lower stress-levels and of using more functional ER strategies (reappraisal, acceptance) in daily life, but did not predict the use of dysfunctional strategies (rumination, suppression) or paranoia. The association between resting-state HRV and stress was mediated by the usage of functional ER. Less functional and more dysfunctional ER were linked to higher levels of stress, paranoia and depression. Our study highlights that deficits in ER represent a link between psychophysiological and phenomenological aspects of paranoia but also of depression. This encourages to further investigate transdiagnostic prevention and therapy programs aiming to improve ER and to increase HRV.

Cognitive behavioural therapy for help-seeking adolescents and young adults with at-risk-mental state: Effects on subclinical positive symptoms.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is effective for at-risk-mental state (ARMS) in reducing/delaying transition to psychosis. However, previous systematic reviews pointed out the small number of trials as a limitation and suggested that additional outcomes should be evaluated, not only prevention of first psychosis episode. No study assessed the CBT effects on subclinical psychotic symptoms. The present study investigated the effects of CBT on the transition risk (primary outcome), and on overall remission from ARMS and severity of subclinical symptoms, that is, unusual content of thought, non-bizarre ideas, perceptual abnormalities, disorganized speech (secondary outcome). CBT consisted of 30 individual weekly sessions over 7 months. Fifty-eight participants with ARMS detected by the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk-Mental States were randomized to CBT or control condition. Respectively in the CBT and control groups, 1 (3.40%) and 5 (26.31%) participants at post-treatment and 3 (10.30%) and 8 (42.10%) at follow-up made transition with a difference between the two groups, despite at borderline significance. At post-treatment and follow-up, respectively, the number of participants recovered from ARMS was significantly higher in CBT (76.92% and 61.53%) than in control (10.52% and 15.80%). Participants in the control group reported lower reductions on all the subclinical symptoms over time as compared with those in CBT. This is the first study assessing CBT on subclinical positive symptoms in ARMS. CBT seems to be a tailored approach able to produce short- and long-term benefits on this outcome.

Smoking, symptoms, and quality of life in patients with psychosis, siblings, and healthy controls: a prospective, longitudinal cohort study

The self-medication hypothesis postulates that the high prevalence of smoking in patients with psychosis can be explained by the ameliorating effect of smoking on symptoms. However, there are few large prospective studies testing this hypothesis. We aimed to examine the multi-cross-sectional and prospective associations of changes in smoking behaviour with symptoms and quality of life. In this prospective cohort study we recruited patients with a non-affective psychosis (n=1094), unaffected siblings (n=1047), and healthy controls (n=579). Patients aged between 16 and 50 years and diagnosed with a non-affective psychosis according to DSM-IV were recruited by clinicians from four university medical centres and 36 associated mental health-care institutions in the Netherlands and Belgium between Jan 13, 2004, and March 6, 2014. Smoking status and number of cigarettes per day were assessed at baseline, and at 3-year and 6-year follow-up using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Symptom frequency was self-rated with the Community Assessment of Psychotic Experience (CAPE), and quality of life was assessed by the WHO Quality of Life (WHOQOL) schedule. Multiple linear mixed-effects regression analyses were done accounting for multiple confounders. At baseline, 729 (67%) of 1094 of patients smoked (mean 17·5 cigarettes per day, SD 8·8) compared with 401 (38%) of 1047 siblings and 145 (25%) of 579 healthy controls. Multi-cross-sectional results of linear mixed-effects analyses showed that smoking in patients and siblings was associated with more frequent positive symptoms (estimate 0·14, SE 0·02, p<0·0001 in patients; 0·03, 0·01, p=0·0019 in siblings), negative symptoms (0·15, 0·03, p<0·0001 in patients; 0·09, 0·02, p<0·0001 in siblings), and depressive symptoms (0·12, 0·03 p<0·0001 in patients; 0·08, 0·02 p<0·0001 in siblings) and lower quality of life (-0·59, 0·11, p<0·0001 in patients; -0·31, 0·09, p=0·0002 in siblings) than non-smokers. In controls, smoking was associated with significantly higher frequency of subclinical positive symptoms (0·03, 0·01, p=0·0016) and depressive symptoms (0·05, 0·03, p=0·0432) than in participants who did not smoke. Patients who started to smoke during follow-up showed a significant increase in self-reported symptoms, particularly positive symptoms (0·161, 0·077, p=0·0381), whereas smoking cessation was not associated with changes in symptoms or quality of life compared with those who showed no change in smoking behaviour. Similar results were obtained for the changes in the number of cigarettes smoked. Our findings do not empirically support the self-medication hypothesis. The absence of long-term symptomatic relief from smoking should encourage clinicians to help patients with psychosis to quit smoking. Dutch Health Research Council, Lundbeck, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Janssen Cilag, Academic Psychiatric Center of the Academic Medical Center, GGZ inGeest, Arkin, Dijk en Duin, GGZ Rivierduinen, Erasmus Medical Center Amsterdam, GGZ Noord Holland Noord, University Medical Center Groningen, Lentis, GGZ Friesland, GGZ Drenthe, Dimence, Mediant, GGNet Warnsveld, Yulius Dordrecht, Parnassia Psycho-medical Center, Maastricht University Medical Center, GGzE, GGZ Breburg, GGZ Oost-Brabant, Vincent van Gogh voor Geestelijke Gezondheid, Mondriaan, Virenze riagg, Zuyderland GGZ, MET GGZ, Universitair Centrum Sint-Jozef Kortenberg, CAPRI University of Antwerp, PC Ziekeren Sint-Truiden, PZ Sancta Maria Sint-Truiden, GGZ Overpelt, OPZ Rekem, University Medical Center Utrecht, Altrecht, GGZ Centraal, and Delta.

F126. PATHWAYS FROM SPEECH ILLUSIONS TO PSYCHOTIC SYMPTOMS IN SUBJECTS AT ULTRA-HIGH RISK FOR PSYCHOSIS: COMBINING AN EXPERIMENTAL PARADIGM OF ABERRANT EXPERIENCES WITH NETWORK ANALYSIS

BackgroundOne of the oldest and most influential theories of psychosis formation states that delusions arise in an attempt to explain unusual experiences, including perceptual aberrations. The White Noise Task by Galdos et al (2011) was developed as an experimental task to assess the tendency to attribute meaning to random perceptual stimuli: speech illusions in white noise. Studies to date have demonstrated that speech illusions as assessed with the White Noise Task are associated with a composite measure of positive symptoms in patients with psychotic disorders (Galdos et al, 2011; Catalan et al, 2014). However, findings in non-clinical samples have been inconsistent: one study found an association with a composite measure of subclinical positive symptoms, including support for a relation with familial psychosis liability (Galdos et al, 2011), whereas other studies did not find any association in non-clinical samples or only partly (Catalan et al, 2014; Rimvall et al, 2016; Pries et al, 2017). The current study aims to further examine whether speech illusions as assessed with the White Noise Task are indicative of psychosis liability and to explore specific symptomatic pathways.MethodsWe conducted symptom-based network analyses in Ultra-High Risk (UHR) subjects participating in the European network of national networks studying gene-environment interactions in schizophrenia project (EU-GEI, 2014; www.eu-gei.eu). Psychotic symptoms were assessed with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Transition to clinical psychosis was assessed with the Comprehensive Assessment of At Risk Mental State (CAARMS). We used a conservative measure of speech illusions, as described in Catalan et al (2014).ResultsThe current sample consisted of 339 UHR subjects, of which 9.1% (N=31) experienced speech illusions. Preliminary network analyses in cross-sectional baseline data showed potential pathways from speech illusions to delusional ideation, through hallucinatory experiences. We also found evidence of prospective relations between speech illusions at baseline and transition to clinical psychosis. Pathways ran via baseline psychotic symptoms and affective symptoms, as well as a ‘direct’ pathway.DiscussionAs far as we are aware, this is the first study combining an experimental measure of aberrant experiences with symptom-based network analysis. Although the current reported findings are preliminary and exploratory, they tentatively support a relation between speech illusions as assessed with the White Noise Task and psychosis liability. This relation may be dependent on sample composition, and not generalizable to the general population as a whole. Future studies may benefit from focusing on more detailed trajectories of both susceptibility to speech illusions and course of (sub)clinical psychotic symptom severity in subjects with increased risk for psychosis, with use of more frequent, short assessment periods and inclusion of environmental risk factors for transition to clinical disorder.

Cannabis Use, Polysubstance Use, and Psychosis Spectrum Symptoms in a Community-Based Sample of U.S. Youth

PurposeTo examine how cannabis use and polysubstance use among cannabis users relate to psychosis spectrum (PS) symptoms in a large community-based sample of U.S. youth. MethodsFour thousand one hundred seventy-one youths (aged 14–21 years; mean = 16.90 years, SD = 1.85; 55% female) from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort completed assessments of substance use, PS symptoms, and confounding variables (e.g., demographics, comorbid psychopathology, and trauma exposure). ResultsAfter adjusting for confounds, cannabis use by itself was not associated with increased odds of being classified as “psychosis spectrum.” However, cannabis use in combination with tobacco or other substance use was associated with increased odds of PS classification (adjusted odds ratios [ORs] = 1.37–1.76). Follow-up symptom-level analyses revealed that cannabis use in combination with other substances was associated with subclinical positive symptoms (ORs = 1.95 and 2.24) and frequent cannabis use was associated with subclinical negative/disorganized symptoms (OR = 2.14). However, these symptom-level findings were reduced to trends after correction for multiple comparisons. Neither cannabis use nor polysubstance use was associated with threshold delusions or hallucinations. ConclusionsAfter adjusting for important confounds, there was minimal evidence for associations between cannabis use by itself and PS symptoms. More compelling evidence emerged for associations between polysubstance use among cannabis users and PS symptoms. This study highlights the importance of considering polysubstance use and confounds when examining associations between cannabis use and PS symptoms. Further longitudinal research is necessary to determine whether these findings represent causal associations or shared genetic and/or environmental vulnerability for substance use and PS symptoms.

Developmental course of subclinical positive and negative psychotic symptoms and their associations with genetic risk status and impairment

The proneness-persistence-impairment (PPI) model states that psychotic experiences are more likely to lead to impairment if their expression becomes persistent. Higher genetic risk for psychosis is known to affect proneness and persistence of subclinical positive symptoms. Less is known about potential effects of genetic risk on the course of subclinical negative symptoms, impairment, and their subsequent associations. The current study examined these issues in a large sample (n=1131), consisting of individuals with higher genetic risk (siblings of patients with psychotic disorders, n=703) and lower genetic risk (controls without a family member with lifetime psychosis, n=428). Psychotic experiences were assessed with the CAPE questionnaire, at two time points three years apart. Participants were allocated to one of four groups representing developmental course: stable low, decreasing, increasing or persisting subclinical positive/negative symptoms. Lifetime clinical psychosis was an exclusion criterion at baseline. Higher genetic risk status was found to be associated with a persisting course of both subclinical positive and negative symptoms, symptom-related distress and functional impairment. There is no evidence for an effect of genetic risk status on the association between developmental course and impairment. The results of the current study underline the importance of assessing psychotic experiences in the context of genetic risk, multidimensional and over time. Additionally, the current findings both underscore and contribute to the PPI model: psychotic experiences are more likely to lead to impairment if their expression becomes persistent, both in individuals with higher and lower genetic risk for psychosis.

Deficits in striatal dopamine release in cannabis dependence.

Most drugs of abuse lead to a general blunting of dopamine release in the chronic phase of dependence, which contributes to poor outcome. To test whether cannabis dependence is associated with a similar dopaminergic deficit, we examined striatal and extrastriatal dopamine release in severely cannabis dependent participants (CD), free of any comorbid conditions, including nicotine use. Eleven CD and twelve healthy controls (HC) completed two positron emission tomography scans with [11C]-(+)-PHNO, before and after oral administration of d-amphetamine. CD stayed inpatient for 5–7 days prior to the scans to standardize abstinence. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRS) measures of glutamate in the striatum and hippocampus were obtained in the same subjects. Percent change in [11C]-(+)-PHNO binding potential (ΔBPND) was compared between groups and correlations with MRS glutamate, subclinical psychopathological and neurocognitive parameters were examined. CD had significantly lower ΔBPND in the striatum (p=0.002, effect size (ES)=1.48), including the associative striatum (p=0.003, ES=1.39), sensorimotor striatum (p=0.003, ES=1.41), and the pallidus (p=0.012, ES=1.16). Lower dopamine release in the associative striatum correlated with inattention and negative symptoms in CD, and with poorer working memory and probabilistic category learning performance in both CD and HC. No relationships to MRS glutamate and amphetamine-induced subclinical positive symptoms were detected. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that severe cannabis dependence -without the confounds of any comorbidity- is associated with a deficit in striatal dopamine release. This deficit extends to other extrastriatal areas and predicts subclinical psychopathology.

Interview Investigation of Insecure Attachment Styles as Mediators between Poor Childhood Care and Schizophrenia-Spectrum Phenomenology.

BackgroundInsecure attachment styles have received theoretical attention and some initial empirical support as mediators between childhood adverse experiences and psychotic phenomena; however, further specificity needs investigating. The present interview study aimed to examine (i) whether two forms of poor childhood care, namely parental antipathy and role reversal, were associated with subclinical positive and negative symptoms and schizophrenia-spectrum personality disorder (PD) traits, and (ii) whether such associations were mediated by specific insecure attachment styles.MethodA total of 214 nonclinical young adults were interviewed for subclinical symptoms (Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States), schizophrenia-spectrum PDs (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders), poor childhood care (Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Interview), and attachment style (Attachment Style Interview). Participants also completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II and all the analyses were conducted partialling out the effects of depressive symptoms.ResultsBoth parental antipathy and role reversal were associated with subclinical positive symptoms and with paranoid and schizotypal PD traits. Role reversal was also associated with subclinical negative symptoms. Angry-dismissive attachment mediated associations between antipathy and subclinical positive symptoms and both angry-dismissive and enmeshed attachment mediated associations of antipathy with paranoid and schizotypal PD traits. Enmeshed attachment mediated associations of role reversal with paranoid and schizotypal PD traits.ConclusionsAttachment theory can inform lifespan models of how adverse developmental environments may increase the risk for psychosis. Insecure attachment provides a promising mechanism for understanding the development of schizophrenia-spectrum phenomenology and may offer a useful target for prophylactic intervention.

Positive and negative subclinical symptoms and MCCB performance in non-psychiatric controls

Considerable data support the phenomenological and temporal continuity between subclinical psychosis and psychotic disorders. In recent years, neurocognitive deficits have increasingly been recognized as a core feature of psychotic illness but there are few data seeking to elucidate the relationship between subclinical psychosis and neurocogntive deficits in non-clinical samples. The goal of the present study was to examine the relationship between subclinical positive and negative symptoms, as measured by the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) and performance on the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) in a large (n = 303) and demographically diverse non-clinical sample. We found that compared to participants with low levels of subclinical positive symptoms, participants with high levels of subclinical positive symptoms performed significantly better in the domains of working memory (p < .001), verbal learning (p = .007) and visual learning (p = .014). Although comparison of participants with high and low levels of subclinical negative symptoms revealed no differences in MCCB performance, we found that individuals with high levels of subclinical negative symptoms performed significantly better on a measure of estimated IQ (WRAT-3 Reading subtest; p = .02) than those with low levels of subclinical negative symptoms. These results are at odds with prior reports that have generally shown a negative relationship between neurocognitive functioning and severity of subclinical psychotic symptoms, and suggest some potential discontinuities between clinically significant psychotic symptoms and sub-syndromal manifestations of psychosis.

Effects of the Mood Induction Paradigm on the Binocular Rivalry mix percept

Event Abstract Back to Event Effects of the Mood Induction Paradigm on the Binocular Rivalry mix percept Anna Antinori1*, Luke D. Smillie1, Philip Smith1 and Olivia Carter1 1 The University of Melbourne, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Australia Background: Binocular rivalry occurs when two different images are presented simultaneously to each eye, respectively. Despite a constant visual input, the perceptual experience is characterized by a spontaneous alternation of the two images and period of “mix percept”, where both images are visible. Previous researchers have reported longer mix percept in children, and in adults after consumption of hallucinogenic drugs. We previous showed that people more susceptible to engage with sensorial stimulation or with unusual perceptual experience perceive longer mix percept. High scores on Openness (a Big Five trait), characterized by high engagement with sensory and perceptual information, and in Unusual Experiences (a facet of schizotypy related to the subclinical positive symptoms of schizophrenia), were strong predictors of mix percept duration. In this study, to consolidate our findings, we used a mood induction procedure that influenced individuals particularly susceptible to perceptually pleasant stimuli/situations (Positive-Pleasant mood induction). We predicted that individuals high in Openness and Unusual Experience traits would report an increase of mix percept, following this procedure. Method: Participants (n. 90). Mood Induction: Participants randomly assigned to one of three mood induction procedures (Control n.30, Positive-Pleasant n.30, Positive-Appetitive n.30). Task: Binocular Rivalry with orthogonal stationary gratings (tilted left/right). Participants reported gratings orientations and mix percept. Personality Traits: Openness, Unusual Experience. Result: Moderated Multiple Regression was employed showing that Openness and mood conditions were not directly associated with mix percept, but Positive-Pleasant mood induction and Openness interacted to predict reports of mix percept, β = 3.68, t (89) = 2.3, p = 0.02 Discussion: Our findings showed how Positive-Pleasant mood Induction increased overall mix percept report and strengthen further the relationship between Openness and mix percept. Unusual Experiences did not show a similar trend, suggesting that schizotypy are not susceptible to positive pleasant sensorial stimulation in a similar way. Keywords: Binocular Rivalry, Mix Percept, mood induction, Personality, Openness Conference: ACNS-2013 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference, Clayton, Melbourne, Australia, 28 Nov - 1 Dec, 2013. Presentation Type: Poster Topic: Sensation and Perception Citation: Antinori A, Smillie LD, Smith P and Carter O (2013). Effects of the Mood Induction Paradigm on the Binocular Rivalry mix percept. Conference Abstract: ACNS-2013 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2013.212.00032 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 15 Oct 2013; Published Online: 25 Nov 2013. * Correspondence: Miss. Anna Antinori, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Melbourne, Australia, anna.antinori@unimelb.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Anna Antinori Luke D Smillie Philip Smith Olivia Carter Google Anna Antinori Luke D Smillie Philip Smith Olivia Carter Google Scholar Anna Antinori Luke D Smillie Philip Smith Olivia Carter PubMed Anna Antinori Luke D Smillie Philip Smith Olivia Carter Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Cannabis use and subclinical positive psychotic experiences in early adolescence: findings from a Dutch survey

To investigate the association between early cannabis use and subclinical psychotic experiences, distinguishing between five levels of use: never used, discontinued use (life-time users who did not use in the preceding year), experimental use, regular use and heavy use. Cross-sectional observational study. Dutch Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, 2005 wave. A total of 4552 secondary school children aged 12-16 years. Cannabis use, Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) positive scale, confounding factors: age, gender, family affluence, household composition, social support, alcohol use, cigarette smoking, ethnicity and urbanicity. The association between cannabis use and subclinical positive symptoms was confirmed, and remained significant after extensive adjustment for potential confounders. Associations were found for all user groups, with strongest associations for the discontinued use group (β = 0.061, P = 0.000) and for the heavy use group (β = 0.065, P = 0.000). There is an enduring association between cannabis use at an early age and subclinical positive psychotic experiences, even after abstaining from cannabis for at least 1 year.

A single blind randomized controlled trial of cognitive behavioural therapy in a help-seeking population with an At Risk Mental State for psychosis: the Dutch Early Detection and Intervention Evaluation (EDIE-NL) trial

BackgroundPsychotic disorders are a serious mental health problem. Intervention before the onset of psychosis might result in delaying the onset, reducing the impact or even preventing the first episode of psychosis. This study explores the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in targeting cognitive biases that are involved in the formation of delusions in persons with an ultra-high risk for developing psychosis. A single blind randomised controlled trial compares CBT with treatment as usual in preventing or delaying the onset of psychosis.Method/designAll help seeking patients aged 14 to 35 years referred to the mental health services in three regions in the Netherlands are pre-screened with the Prodromal Questionnaire during a period of two years. Patients with a score of 18 or more on the sub-clinical positive symptoms items (45 items in total) will be assessed with the Comprehensive Assessment of At Risk Mental State (CAARMS). In a different pathway to care model all referrals from the mental health services in Amsterdam to the specialized psychosis clinic of the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam are also assessed with the CAARMS. The primary outcome is the transition rate to psychosis according to the CAARMS-criteria. Group differences will be analysed with chi-square tests and survival analyses.DiscussionCBT is a highly tolerated treatment. The psycho-educational CBT approach may prove to be a successful strategy since most people with an At Risk Mental State (ARMS) are distressed by odd disturbing experiences. Giving explanations for and normalising these experiences may reduce the arousal (distress) and therefore may prevent people from developing a catastrophic delusional explanation for their odd experiences and thus prevent them from developing psychosis.Screening the entire help-seeking population referred to community mental health services with a two-stage strategy, as compared with traditional referral to a specialist clinical psychosis centre, might detect more ultra-high-risk (UHR) patients. This type of screening could be implemented in mental health care as routine screening. The trial is registered at Current Controlled trials as trial number ISRCTN21353122.