High-functioning autism patients share similar but more severe impairments in verbal theory of mind than schizophrenia patients

BackgroundEvidence suggests that autism and schizophrenia share similarities in genetic, neuropsychological and behavioural aspects. Although both disorders are associated with theory of mind (ToM) impairments, a few studies have directly compared ToM between autism patients and schizophrenia patients. This study aimed to investigate to what extent high-functioning autism patients and schizophrenia patients share and differ in ToM performance.MethodsThirty high-functioning autism patients, 30 schizophrenia patients and 30 healthy individuals were recruited. Participants were matched in age, gender and estimated intelligence quotient. The verbal-based Faux Pas Task and the visual-based Yoni Task were utilised to examine first- and higher-order, affective and cognitive ToM. The task/item difficulty of two paradigms was examined using mixed model analyses of variance (ANOVAs). Multiple ANOVAs and mixed model ANOVAs were used to examine group differences in ToM.ResultsThe Faux Pas Task was more difficult than the Yoni Task. High-functioning autism patients showed more severely impaired verbal-based ToM in the Faux Pas Task, but shared similar visual-based ToM impairments in the Yoni Task with schizophrenia patients.ConclusionsThe findings that individuals with high-functioning autism shared similar but more severe impairments in verbal ToM than individuals with schizophrenia support the autism–schizophrenia continuum. The finding that verbal-based but not visual-based ToM was more impaired in high-functioning autism patients than schizophrenia patients could be attributable to the varied task/item difficulty between the two paradigms.

Prediction of Functional Overreaching From Subjective Fatigue and Readiness to Train After Only 3 Days of Cycling

Purpose:To investigate whether monitoring of easily measurable stressors and symptoms can be used to distinguish early between acute fatigue (AF) and functional overreaching (FOR).Methods:The study included 30 subjects (11 female, 19 male; age 40.8 ± 10.8 y, VO2max 51.8 ± 6.3 mL · kg–1 · min–1) who participated in an 8-d cycling event over 1300 km with 18,500 climbing meters. Performance was measured before and after the event using a maximal incremental test. Subjects with decreased performance after the event were classified as FOR, others as AF. Mental and physical well-being, internal training load, resting heart rate, temperature, and mood were measured daily during the event. Differences between AF and FOR were analyzed using mixed-model ANOVAs. Logistic regression was used to determine the best predictors of FOR after 3 and 6 d of cycling.Results:Fifteen subjects were classified as FOR and 14 as AF (1 excluded). Although total group changes were observed during the event, no differences between AF and FOR were found for individual monitoring parameters. The combination of questionnaire-based changes in fatigue and readiness to train after 3 d cycling correctly predicted 78% of the subjects as AF or FOR (sensitivity = 79%, specificity = 77%).Conclusions:Monitoring changes in fatigue and readiness to train, using simple visual analog scales, can be used to identify subjects likely to become FOR after only 3 d of cycling. Hence, we encourage athlete support staff to monitor not only fatigue but also the subjective integrated mental and physical readiness to perform.

Are We Worrying About the Right Men and Are the Right Men Feeling Worried? Conscious But Not Unconscious Prostate Anxiety Predicts Screening Among Men From Three Ethnic Groups

Anxieties regarding cancer and screening have been consistently linked in prostate screening behavior with cancer-related anxieties generally thought to be higher among minority men. To date, however, the literature linking cancer anxieties to screening among diverse men remains predicated on self-reported anxiety. Research has yet to consider how “accurate” the reporting of anxiety may be among distinct groups of men or the possibility that anxiety may influence prostate cancer (PC) screening behavior through conscious and nonconscious channels; the current study tested for discrepancies between self-report and Stroop-ascertained general- and prostate-specific anxiety and their links to screening among 180 U.S.-born African American, U.S.-born European American, and immigrant Jamaican men. Men provided self-report information regarding trait and prostate-related anxiety and completed an emotional Stroop task. Mixed model ANOVAs showed that while U.S.-born African Americans had few discrepancies between self-report and Stroop-ascertained anxiety, Jamaicans reported greater PC anxiety than indicated by Stroop performance, while the opposite was true among U.S.-born Europeans. As expected, self-reported (but not Stroop-ascertained) PC anxiety predicted screening in multivariate analysis. Although men from different age and ethnic groups varied in the discrepancy between self-reported and Stroop-ascertained PC anxiety, the influence of avoidance-producing emotions appears to operate predominantly through conscious channels.