Understanding of anhedonia: from traditional to phenomenological analysis of the phenomena

The article is written in the form of a survey lecture highlighting the modern views of scientists on the phenomenon of anhedonia. A comparative analysis of the traditional psychiatric view of anhedonia with the phenomenological one is carried out. The specificity of anhedonia as a psychopathological symptom and as a psychological phenomenon is shown, as well as the features of the manifestation of anhedonia in neurological diseases. For practicing psychiatrists, the aspect of differentiation of anhedonia may be important, allowing one to choose the most adequate ways of correcting it between psychotherapeutic interventions, prescribing antidepressants with a proven anti-anhedonic effect or atypical antipsychotics.

Psychopathological Symptom Load and Distinguishable Cerebral Blood Flow Velocity Patterns in Patients With Schizophrenia and Healthy Controls: A Functional Transcranial Doppler Study

Introduction: Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder, with executive dysfunction and impaired processing speed playing a pivotal role in the course of the disease. In patients with schizophrenia, neurocognitive deficits appear to be related to alterations in cerebral hemodynamics. It is not fully understood if psychopathological symptom load (i.e., presence and severity of symptoms) is also related to alterations in cerebral hemodynamics. We aim to study the relationship between psychopathological symptom load and cerebral hemodynamics in the Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) during a cognitive task in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls.Methodology: Cerebral hemodynamics in the MCA were examined in 30 patients with schizophrenia and 15 healthy controls using functional Transcranial Doppler (fTCD) during the Trail Making Test (TMT). Psychopathological symptoms were measured using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Patients were dichotomized according to BPRS scores: mild-moderate (BPRS < 41, n = 15) or marked-severe (BPRS ≧ 41, n = 15). Mean blood flow velocity (MFV) in the MCA and processing speed of the TMT were analyzed. Cerebral hemodynamics were analyzed using the general additional model (GAM) with a covariate analysis of variance (ANCOVA) for group comparisons.Results: Patients and healthy controls were comparable regarding demographics. Patients had a slower processing speed for the TMT-A (patients-severe: 52s, patients-moderate: 40s, healthy-controls: 32s, p = 0.019) and TMT-B [patients-severe: 111s, patients-moderate: 76s, healthy-controls: 66s, p < 0.001)]. Patients demonstrated differing hemodynamic profiles in both TMTs: TMT- A [F(6, 1,792) = 17, p < 0.000); TMT-B [F(6, 2,692) = 61.93, p < 0.000], with a delay in increase in MFV and a failure to return to baseline values.Conclusions: Patients with schizophrenia demonstrated slower speeds of processing during both the TMT-A and TMT-B. The speed of processing deteriorated with increasing psychopathological symptom load, additionally a distinct cerebral hemodynamic pattern in the MCA was observed. Our results further support the view that severity of schizophrenia, particularly psychopathological symptom load, influences performance in neurocognitive tasks and is related to distinct patterns of brain hemodynamics.

Measuring Negative Emotion Differentiation Via Coded Descriptions of Emotional Experience

Emotion differentiation (ED) has been defined in terms of two abilities: (a) making fine-grained distinctions between emotional experiences, and (b) describing individual emotional experiences with a high degree of nuance and specificity. Research to date has almost exclusively focused on the former, with little attention paid to the latter. The current study sought to address this discrepant focus by testing two novel measures of negative ED (i.e., based on negatively valenced emotions only) via coded open-ended descriptions of individual emotional experiences, both past and present. As part of a larger study, 307 participants completed written descriptions of two negative emotional experiences, as well as a measure of emotion regulation difficulties and indices of psychopathological symptom severity. Negative ED ability, as measured via consistency between emotional experiences, was found to be unrelated to negative ED ability exhibited via coding of language within experiences. Within-experience negative ED may offer an incrementally adaptive function to that of ED between emotional experiences. Implications for ED theory are discussed.

Sex differences in neural correlates of common psychopathological symptoms in early adolescence

Background Sex-related differences in psychopathology are known phenomena, with externalizing and internalizing symptoms typically more common in boys and girls, respectively. However, the neural correlates of these sex-by-psychopathology interactions are underinvestigated, particularly in adolescence. Methods Participants were 14 years of age and part of the IMAGEN study, a large (N = 1526) community-based sample. To test for sex-by-psychopathology interactions in structural grey matter volume (GMV), we used whole-brain, voxel-wise neuroimaging analyses based on robust non-parametric methods. Psychopathological symptom data were derived from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results We found a sex-by-hyperactivity/inattention interaction in four brain clusters: right temporoparietal-opercular region (p < 0.01, Cohen's d = −0.24), bilateral anterior and mid-cingulum (p < 0.05, Cohen's d = −0.18), right cerebellum and fusiform (p < 0.05, Cohen's d = −0.20) and left frontal superior and middle gyri (p < 0.05, Cohen's d = −0.26). Higher symptoms of hyperactivity/inattention were associated with lower GMV in all four brain clusters in boys, and with higher GMV in the temporoparietal-opercular and cerebellar-fusiform clusters in girls. Conclusions Using a large, sex-balanced and community-based sample, our study lends support to the idea that externalizing symptoms of hyperactivity/inattention may be associated with different neural structures in male and female adolescents. The brain regions we report have been associated with a myriad of important cognitive functions, in particular, attention, cognitive and motor control, and timing, that are potentially relevant to understand the behavioural manifestations of hyperactive and inattentive symptoms. This study highlights the importance of considering sex in our efforts to uncover mechanisms underlying psychopathology during adolescence.

Association of family history of schizophrenia and history of obstetric complications at birth: relationship with age at onset and psychopathology dimensions in a Nigerian cohort

Background: The nature of the association between obstetric complications (OCs) at birth and the genetic aetiology of schizo- phrenia remains unclear, as some authors suggest that it is an independent risk factor while others support either interactionism or an epiphenomenon perspective. Objective: To examine the association of family history of schizophrenia (FHS) with history of OCs, with a view to assessing whether this relationship moderates clinical phenotypes such as symptom dimensions and age at onset of illness. Methods: This study examined OCs among schizophrenia probands using the Obstetric Complications Scale. An inquiry into family history was performed using the Family history method. Psychopathological symptom dimensions were assessed using standard scales. Data were analyzed to examine the interaction of FHS and history of OCs with age at onset and symptom dimensions, using ANCOVA. Results: FHS was significantly associated with the disorganized symptoms dimension (p=0.03). History of OCs was significant- ly associated with earlier age at onset (p=0.007). However, in ANCOVA, the effect of the interaction between FHS and history of OCs was not significant for age at onset and symptom dimensions (P = 0.059). Conclusion: FHS was significantly associated with disorganization syndrome, and OCs was significantly associated with age at onset. Keywords: Family history; schizophrenia; obstetric complications; symptom dimensions; age at onset.

The Impact of Criteria-based and Data-driven Sampling Approaches on the Heterogeneity and Interpretability of Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Networks

Background. The application of psychopathological symptom networks requires reconciliation of the observed cross-sample heterogeneity. We leveraged the largest sample to be used in a PTSD network analysis (N = 28,594) to examine the impact of criteria-based and data-driven sampling approaches on the heterogeneity and interpretability of networks.Methods. Severity and diagnostic criteria identified four overlapping subsamples and cluster analysis identified three distinct data-derived profiles. Networks estimated on each subsample were compared to a respective benchmark network at the symptom-relation level by calculating sensitivity, specificity, correlation, and density of the edges. Negative edges were assessed for Berkson’s bias, a source of error that can be induced by threshold samples on severity.Results. Criteria-based networks showed reduced sensitivity, specificity, and density but edges remained highly correlated and a meaningfully higher proportion of negative edges was not observed relative to the benchmark network of all cases. Among the data-derived profile networks, the Low Severity network had the highest proportion of negative edges not present in the benchmark network of symptomatic cases. The High Severity profile also showed a higher proportion of negative edges, whereas the Medium Severity profile did not. Conclusion. Although networks showed differences, Berkson’s bias did not appear to be a meaningful source of systematic error. These results can guide expectations about the generalizability of symptom networks across samples that vary in their ranges of severity. Future work should continue to explore whether network heterogeneity is reflective of meaningful and interpretable differences in the symptom relations from which they are composed.

Resilience psychophysiology: preventing breakdown the biomarkers that could enhance resilience and breakdown prevention.

Introduction: This paper draws a research project that aims to understand the psychophysiological gymnastics necessary to cope with the trauma’s “pathosplastic gymnastic”, elucidating the successful or adaptation magic of resilient individuals. As study justification we point motivation and curiosity to obtain an assertive answer to the question: How and Why individuals exposed to dramatic life events didn’t develop PTSD or any psychopathological symptom but reveal their adaptive magic? This answer could not only enlightening protector, vulnerability and risk factors but also if this extraordinary individuals have a singular biology that enable us to find if resilience has a pattern of biomarkers which could provide the interventional tools to promote resilience and prevent breakdown, monitoring psychophysiology of resilience and consequently promote Health and Well-Being.

RESILIENCE PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY: PREVENTING BREAKDOWN THE BIOMARKERS THAT COULD ENHANCE RESILIENCE AND BREAKDOWN PREVENTION

Introduction: This paper draws a research project that aims to understand the psychophysiological gymnastics necessary to cope with the trauma’s “pathosplastic gymnastic”, elucidating the successful or adaptation magic of resilient individuals. As study justification we point motivation and curiosity to obtain an assertive answer to the question: How and Why individuals exposed to dramatic life events didn’t develop PTSD or any psychopathological symptom but reveal their adaptive magic? This answer could not only enlightening protector, vulnerability and risk factors but also if this extraordinary individuals have a singular biology that enable us to find if resilience has a pattern of biomarkers which could provide the interventional tools to promote resilience and prevent breakdown, monitoring psychophysiology of resilience and consequently promote Health and Well-Being.Keywords: Resilience, Prevention, Biomarkers, Pharmacotherapy.