Characterizing psychosis-relevant phenomena and cognitive function in a unique population with isolated, chronic and very heavy cannabis exposure

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (14) ◽  
pp. 2452-2459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepak Cyril D'Souza ◽  
Suhas Ganesh ◽  
Jose Cortes-Briones ◽  
Michael H. Campbell ◽  
Maisha K. Emmanuel
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Psychomotor Speed ◽  
Schizotypal Personality ◽  
Other Substances ◽  
Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire

AbstractBackgroundThe literature on psychosis-relevant outcomes in cannabis users does not adequately address the confounding effects of other substance use/misuse and psychiatric disorders.MethodsWe studied a unique population for whom cannabis use is central and necessary to their way of life. They are forbidden from using other substances, including tobacco and alcohol. Their use of cannabis is heavy, chronic, and begins early. The cases were compared with matched controls who did not use cannabis, alcohol, or drugs. The controls were from the same location and shared similar beliefs and lifestyle, except for cannabis use. Attenuated psychosis-relevant phenomena were assessed with the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and cognitive functioning with a culture-neutral computerized cognitive battery.ResultsFifteen cases and 12 matched controls were studied. The cases averaged >30 000 lifetime cannabis exposures. Relative to controls, the cases had significantly higher mean (s.d.) SPQ scores 24 (14.32) v. 13 (8.92), p = 0.031; and poorer cognitive performance, reflected by a lower mean (s.d.) composite cognitive score −0.23 (0.32) v. +0.28 (0.52), p = 0.03. Moderate to large effect sizes were noted for differences in tests of attention, psychomotor speed, working memory, cognitive flexibility, visuo-spatial processing, and verbal memory. A subsample of cases had higher SPQ scores and worse cognitive performance than their siblings not using cannabis.ConclusionHeavy, chronic, and early cannabis use that is not confounded by other drug use is associated with psychosis-relevant phenomena and cognitive deficits. The findings are relevant to the evolving attitudes and laws about cannabis.

scholarly journals Cognitive Performance in Men and Women Infected with HIV-1

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
José María Faílde Garrido ◽  
María Lameiras Fernández ◽  
Marika Foltz ◽  
Yolanda Rodríguez Castro ◽  
María Victoria Carrera Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Visual Memory ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Neuropsychological Performance ◽  
Abstract Reasoning ◽  
Verbal Intelligence ◽  
Psychomotor Speed ◽  
Hiv 1

Introduction. Very few studies have examined the neuropsychological performance of HIV-positive women, and even fewer have attempted a comparison of cognitive functioning by gender. The aim of this study was to describe the nature of the neuropsychological performance of HIV seropositive patients by gender.Methods. A clinical sample made up of 151 subjects was recruited to participate in this study. All of the subjects underwent the same assessment process, consisting of a neuropsychological evaluation and an interview to gather sociodemographic, toxicological, and clinical data.Results and Discussion. Despite the fact that men obtained higher scores in visual memory, attention/psychomotor speed, and abstract reasoning/verbal intelligence, these differences were not statistically significant. In contrast, significant differences were found depending on subjects’ serological status. Seropositive participants’ neuropsychological performance was significantly lower than that of the seronegative participants in all of the areas assessed as follows: (1) visual memory; (2) attention/psychomotor speed; (3) abstract reasoning/verbal intelligence; (4) verbal memory for texts; (5) verbal memory for digits and words.Conclusions. The results from this study reveal no significant gender differences in the cognitive performance of patients infected with HIV-1.

scholarly journals Long-Term Cognitive Performance of Retired Athletes with Sport-Related Concussion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanjie Zhang ◽  
Yongzhi Ma ◽  
Shihui Chen ◽  
Xiaolei Liu ◽  
Hye Jung Kang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Visuospatial Ability ◽  
Delayed Recall ◽  
Immediate Recall

Objective: The purpose of this systematic review is to quantitatively estimate (or invest) the impacts of sports-related concussions (SRCs) on cognitive performance among retired athletes more than 10 years after retirement. Methods: Six databases including (MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL, and PsycArtilces) were employed to retrieve the related studies. Studies that evaluate the association between cognitive function and the SRC of retired athletes sustaining more than 10 years were included. Results: A total of 11 studies that included 792 participants (534 retired athletes with SRC) were identified. The results indicated that the retired athletes with SRCs, compared to the non-concussion group, had significant cognitive deficits in verbal memory (SMD = −0.29, 95% CI −0.59 to −0.02, I2 = 52.8%), delayed recall (SMD = −0.30, 95% CI –0.46 to 0.07, I2 = 27.9%), and attention (SMD = −0.33, 95% CI −0.59 to −0.06, I2 = 0%). Additionally, meta-regression demonstrated that the period of time between testing and the last concussion is significantly associated with reduced verbal memory (β = −0.03681, p = 0.03), and increasing age is significantly associated with the verbal memory (β = −0.03767, p = 0.01), immediate recall (β = −0.08684, p = 0.02), and delay recall (β = −0.07432, p = 0.02). Conclusion: The retired athletes who suffered from SRCs during their playing career had declined cognitive performance in partial domains (immediate recall, visuospatial ability, and reaction time) later in life.

scholarly journals Establishing two principal dimensions of cognitive variation in logopenic progressive aphasia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddharth Ramanan ◽  
Daniel Roquet ◽  
Zoë-lee Goldberg ◽  
John R Hodges ◽  
Olivier Piguet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Cognitive Profiles ◽  
Factor Scores ◽  
Level Variation ◽  
Individual Level

Abstract Logopenic progressive aphasia (LPA) is a neurodegenerative syndrome characterised by sentence repetition and naming difficulties arising from left-lateralised temporoparietal atrophy. Clinical descriptions of LPA largely concentrate on profiling language deficits, however, accumulating evidence points to the presence of cognitive deficits even on tasks with minimal language demands. Although non-linguistic cognitive deficits in LPA are thought to scale with disease severity, patients at discrete stages of language dysfunction display overlapping cognitive profiles, suggesting individual-level variation in cognitive performance, independent of primary language dysfunction. To address this issue, we used principal component analysis to decompose individual-level variation in cognitive performance in 43 well-characterised LPA patients who underwent multi-domain neuropsychological assessments and structural neuroimaging. The principal component analysis solution revealed the presence of two, statistically independent factors, providing stable and clinically intuitive explanations for the majority of variance in cognitive performance in the syndrome. Factor 1 reflected ‘speech production and verbal memory’ deficits which typify LPA. Systematic variations were also confirmed on a second, orthogonal factor mainly comprising visuospatial and executive processes. Adopting a case-comparison approach, we further demonstrate that pairs of patients with comparable Factor 1 scores, regardless of their severity, diverge considerably on visuo-executive test performance, underscoring the inter-individual variability in cognitive profiles in comparably ‘logopenic’ patients. Whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analyses revealed that speech production and verbal memory factor scores correlated with left middle frontal gyrus, while visuospatial and executive factor scores were associated with grey matter intensity of right-lateralised temporoparietal, middle frontal regions and their underlying white matter connectivity. Importantly, LPA patients with poorer visuospatial and executive factor scores demonstrated greater right-lateralised temporoparietal and frontal atrophy. Our findings demonstrate the inherent variation in cognitive performance at an individual- and group-level in LPA, suggesting the presence of a genuine co-occurring cognitive impairment that is statistically independent of language function and disease severity.

scholarly journals The impact of lifetime interpersonal and intentional trauma on cognition and vulnerability to psychosis in bipolar disorder

BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia G. Lebovitz ◽  
Caitlin E. Millett ◽  
Meg Shanahan ◽  
Nomi C. Levy-Carrick ◽  
Katherine E. Burdick
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Social Adjustment ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Schizotypal Personality ◽  
Lifetime Trauma ◽  
Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire ◽  
The Impact

Background Studies have shown that over half of individuals with bipolar disorder experience early-life trauma, which may influence clinical outcomes, including suicidality and presence of psychotic features. However, studies report inconsistent findings regarding the effect of trauma on cognitive outcomes in bipolar disorder. Aims Our study explores the effect of lifetime trauma on the level of vulnerability to psychosis and cognitive performance in participants with bipolar disorder. Method We evaluated lifetime trauma history in 236 participants with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder type 1 or 2, using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. We classified trauma types based on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's concept of trauma, which characterises the type of experienced trauma (e.g. interpersonal and intentional, accidental or naturally occurring). Our primary outcome measures of interest were vulnerability to psychosis (Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire), cognitive performance (MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery) and social functioning (Social Adjustment Scale Self-Report). Results Multivariate analysis of covariance showed a significant effect of trauma type on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire cognitive–perceptual domain (F(3) = 6.7, P < 0.001). The no-trauma group had lower cognitive–perceptual schizotypal features compared with the accidental and intentional trauma (P < 0.001) and interpersonal and intentional trauma (P = 0.01) groups. Conclusions Our results highlight the need for careful trauma inquiry in patients with bipolar disorder, and consideration of how trauma-focused or -informed treatments may be an integral part of treatment planning to improve outcomes in bipolar disorder.

The effect of the AKT1 gene and cannabis use on cognitive performance in healthy subjects

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 990-998 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Fatjó-Vilas ◽  
J Soler ◽  
M I Ibáñez ◽  
J Moya-Higueras ◽  
G Ortet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Performance Test ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Continuous Performance Test ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Card Sorting

Background: Evidence suggests that the AKT1 gene may modulate the degree to which cannabis use induces cognitive alterations in patients with a psychotic disorder. Aim: To examine the interplay between AKT1 and cannabis use in terms of the cognitive performance of the general population. Methods: Our sample consisted of 389 Spanish university students. Sustained attention was measured via the Continuous Performance Test–Identical Pairs, immediate and delayed verbal memory with the Logical Memory subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale, and working memory with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Lifetime cannabis use frequency was assessed and individuals were classified as cannabis users or non-users. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms of the AKT1 gene were genotyped and, according to previous studies, each subject was defined as a carrier of two, one or no copies of the haplotype (rs2494732(C)–rs1130233(A)). Multiple linear regressions were conducted to test the effect of the genetic variability and cannabis use (and their interaction) on cognitive performance. Results: An effect of the AKT1 haplotype was found on attention scores: individuals with two copies of the haplotype performed better (β=0.18, p<0.001 (adjusted for false discovery rate)), while neither cannabis nor the AKT1–cannabis interaction was associated with attention. No effect of AKT1, cannabis or the AKT1–cannabis interaction was found on verbal memory or working memory. Conclusions: Our study provides additional evidence that AKT1 modulates cognitive performance. However, in our non-clinical sample, the previously reported interaction between cannabis use and the AKT1 gene was not replicated.

Acute cannabis use causes increased psychotomimetic experiences in individuals prone to psychosis

2008 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 951-956 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Mason ◽  
C. J. A. Morgan ◽  
S. K. Dhiman ◽  
A. Patel ◽  
N. Parti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Psychotic Experiences ◽  
Epidemiological Evidence ◽  
Schizotypal Personality ◽  
Psychosis Proneness ◽  
Naturalistic Setting ◽  
Drug History ◽  
Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Harmful Effects

BackgroundEpidemiological evidence suggests a link between cannabis use and psychosis. A variety of factors have been proposed to mediate an individual's vulnerability to the harmful effects of the drug, one of which is their psychosis proneness. We hypothesized that highly psychosis-prone individuals would report more marked psychotic experiences under the acute influence of cannabis.MethodA group of cannabis users (n=140) completed the Psychotomimetic States Inventory (PSI) once while acutely intoxicated and again when free of cannabis. A control group (n=144) completed the PSI on two parallel test days. All participants also completed a drug history and the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). Highly psychosis-prone individuals from both groups were then compared with individuals scoring low on psychosis proneness by taking those in each group scoring above and below the upper and lower quartiles using norms for the SPQ.ResultsSmoking cannabis in a naturalistic setting reliably induced marked increases in psychotomimetic symptoms. Consistent with predictions, highly psychosis-prone individuals experienced enhanced psychotomimetic states following acute cannabis use.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that an individual's response to acute cannabis and their psychosis-proneness scores are related and both may be markers of vulnerability to the harmful effects of this drug.

scholarly journals Cannabis’s Link to Schizotypy: Phenomenon, Measurement Bias, or Delusion?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brianna Altman ◽  
Maha Mian ◽  
Luna Ueno ◽  
Mitch Earleywine
Keyword(s):  
Factor Structure ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Measurement Bias ◽  
Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Unusual Behavior ◽  
Potential Measurement ◽  
Schizotypal Personality ◽  
Item Functioning ◽  
Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire ◽  
D 20

Links between cannabis use and psychosis continue to generate research and media attention. Cannabis users have outscored non-users on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B) by a small amount in multiple studies, but previous work on biased items suggests that the groups do not differ if these items are removed. The present study examined links between schizotypal personality, as measured by the SPQ-B, and cannabis use in a large sample recruited from Amazon’s MTurk platform. Over 500 participants (72.5%) reported lifetime cannabis exposure, 259 participants (36.7%) reported current cannabis use, and on average, used 3.5 days per week. Users and non-users failed to differ significantly on total SPQ-B scores or any of the three established subscales, with effect sizes all lower than d = .20. The null results inspired a re-examination of the SPQ-B’s factor structure, which identified a novel 3-factor solution (difficulty opening up to others, hyperawareness, and odd or unusual behavior). Only the “odd or unusual behavior” factor showed cannabis-related differences (g = .234), but a differential item functioning test revealed that one item on that subscale showed potential bias against users. Removing this item dropped the group differences to a non-significant g = 0.149. These results suggest that links between schizotypy and cannabis require cautious interpretation with careful attention to potential measurement bias. In addition, the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief might have an alternative factor structure that could help answer important questions in psychopathology.

scholarly journals Establishing two principal dimensions of cognitive variation in Logopenic Progressive Aphasia

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddharth Ramanan ◽  
Daniel Roquet ◽  
Zoë-lee Goldberg ◽  
John. R. Hodges ◽  
Olivier Piguet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Cognitive Profiles ◽  
Factor Scores ◽  
Level Variation ◽  
Individual Level

ABSTRACTLogopenic Progressive Aphasia (LPA) is a neurodegenerative syndrome characterised by sentence repetition and naming difficulties arising from left-lateralised temporoparietal atrophy. Clinical descriptions of LPA largely concentrate on profiling language deficits, however, accumulating evidence points to the presence of cognitive deficits, even on tasks with minimal language demands. Although non-linguistic cognitive deficits in LPA are thought to scale with disease severity, patients at discrete stages of language dysfunction display overlapping cognitive profiles, suggesting individual-level variation in cognitive performance, independent of primary language dysfunction. To address this issue, we used principal component analysis to decompose individual-level variation in cognitive performance in 43 well-characterised LPA patients who underwent multi-domain neuropsychological assessments and structural neuroimaging. The principal component analysis solution revealed the presence of two, statistically independent factors, providing stable and clinically intuitive explanations for the majority of variance in cognitive performance in the syndrome. Factor 1 reflected ‘speech production and verbal memory’ deficits which typify LPA. Systematic variations were also confirmed on a second, orthogonal factor mainly comprising visuospatial and executive processes. Adopting a case-comparison approach, we further demonstrate that pairs of patients with comparable Factor 1 scores, regardless of their severity, diverge considerably on visuo-executive test performance, underscoring the inter-individual variability in cognitive profiles in comparably ‘logopenic’ patients. Whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analyses revealed that speech production and verbal memory factor scores correlated with left middle frontal gyrus, while visuospatial and executive factor scores were associated with grey matter intensity of right-lateralised temporoparietal, middle frontal regions and their underlying white matter connectivity. Importantly, LPA patients with poorer visuospatial and executive factor scores demonstrated greater right-lateralised temporoparietal and frontal atrophy. Our findings demonstrate the inherent variation in cognitive performance at an individual- and group-level in LPA, suggesting the presence of a genuine co-occurring cognitive impairment that is independent of language function and disease severity.

The relationship between cannabis use and schizotypal symptoms

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth L. Bailey ◽  
Brian L. Swallow
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Process ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Clinical Population ◽  
Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Schizotypal Personality ◽  
Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Schizotypal Symptoms

AbstractTo test the relationship between schizotypal symptoms and cannabis use in a non-clinical population, cannabis users and non-users were asked to complete the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. Significant differences in scores between the groups were observed. There may be a developmental process in the relationship between cannabis use and schizotypal symptoms.

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