Ilaria Riccardi

Exploration of irony appreciation in schizophrenia

Irony is a form of speech used to convey feelings in an indirect way. Patients with schizophrenia demonstrated an impaired irony processing, associated with poor theory-of-mind. We investigated irony appreciation in a sample of 20 subjects with schizophrenic disorder by using cartoon images. The primary aim was to examine the association between Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS) scores (i.e. positive, negative and cognitive) and irony visual joke appreciation. The group performed significantly worse in the Theory of Mind (ToM) condition than in the physical one. We report a significant relationship between ToM performances with PANSS positive and cognitive symptoms but not with negative symptom scores. Average humour score significantly correlated with positive symptoms, i.e. more severe symptoms, less funny the cartoon, while the difficulty in understanding the jokes was related to PANSS cognitive cluster score, i.e. more cognitive symptoms, less difficult the ToM jokes. Our results offer evidence for a compromised ToM capability in appreciating visual jokes linked to specific symptomatology.

Spirituality and Religiosity in the Aftermath of a Natural Catastrophe in Italy

The aim of this study is to assess the influence of spirituality and religiousness on the psychological traumatic effects of a catastrophic event in a population that had been exposed to an earthquake compared with a control population that had not been exposed. A total of 901 people have been evaluated using: (1) Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality; (2) Impact of Event Scale and (3) Trauma and Loss Spectrum-Self Report (TALS-SR). Self-perceptions of spirituality and religiousness were used to rank the samples, distinguishing between spiritual and religious, spiritual-only, religious-only and neither spiritual nor religious groups. The sample that had experienced the earthquake showed lower scores in spiritual dimension. The religious-only group of those who were exposed to the earthquake demonstrated TALS-SR re-experiencing and arousal domain scores similar to the population that was not exposed. A weakening of spiritual religiosity in people having difficulty coping with trauma is a consistent finding. We further observed that the religious dimension helped to buffer the community against psychological distress caused by the earthquake. The religiosity dimension can positively affect the ability to cope with traumatic experiences.

Dimensional, non-taxonic latent structure of psychotic symptoms in a student sample

IntroductionWe examined the construct of psychosis using the self-report instrument CAPE (Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences) in a sample of 1,323 students.Materials and MethodsTaxometric analysis was carried out using Taxometric Programs for the R Computing Environment. The MAXCOV CCFI was 0.34, indicating a dimensional latent structure. All other taxometric analysis yielded very similar results indicative of dimensional structure.ConclusionIn this study, using powerful analytic techniques designed expressly for the purpose, i.e. taxometric analysis, the latent construct of psychosis in a sample of young students appeared to be consistent with a dimensional, non-taxonic latent structure.

A quantitative analysis of antidepressant and antipsychotic prescriptions following an earthquake in Italy

Because natural disasters provoke an increase in mental and medical disorders in survivors, an increase in psychotropic prescriptions has been observed following disasters. This study assesses the pharmacoepidemiology of antidepressant and antipsychotic drug prescriptions after an earthquake in Italy by using an administrative database. Statins and diabetic medications served as control medications. Comparison of the rates in the 6 months after the earthquake to the same period one year before revealed a 37% increase of new prescriptions for antidepressants and a 129% increase for antipsychotic prescriptions. Older age and female gender was associated with the increased number of prescriptions.

Decision-making impairment in schizophrenia: relationships with positive symptomatology.

Abnormal decision-making (DM) performance has been reported in several neurobehavioral disorders such as schizophrenia, addiction, and obsessive compulsive disorders. The exploration of DM correlates in terms of symptom formation may add more knowledge about the meanings of DM performance in schizophrenia. We examined the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and its relationship with clinical symptoms, evaluated by Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS), in 40 schizophrenic patients and 20 controls. Schizophrenic patients did worse on IGT performance with a significant difference between the two groups in Net Score. PANSS positive symptoms were negatively correlated with Net Score and advantageous choices and directly with disadvantageous choices. Results suggest that persons with schizophrenia display a pattern of compromised DM related to positive symptoms.

Temperament and Character Inventory-R (TCI-R) and Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ): convergence and divergence.

This study evaluated the correspondence between measures of two competing theories of personality, the five-factor model as measured by the Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ), and Cloningers psychobiological theory measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory—Revised (TCI—R). A sample of 900 Italian participants, balanced with respect to sex (393 men and 507 women), and representative of the adult population with respect to age (range 18 to 70 years; M = 39.6, SD = 15.7) completed the TCI—R and the Big Five Questionnaire. All TCI—R personality dimensions except Self-Transcendence were moderately correlated with one or more of the Big Five dimensions (from r = .40 to .61), and the two instruments showed areas of convergence. However, the differences outweighed the similarities, indicating that these current conceptualizations and measures of personality are somewhat inconsistent with each other.

How much stress is needed to increase vulnerability to psychosis? A community assessment of psychic experiences (CAPE) evaluation 10 months after an earthquake in L’Aquila (Italy)

Since severe stress can induce mental disorder symptoms that interact with vulnerability factors, the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) was evaluated in a population of 419 young adults who survived an earthquake; results were compared to a database of 1,057 ‘non-exposed’ subjects. Unexpectedly, earthquake survivors showed lower CAPE scores for ‘small’ to ‘medium’ effect size. Post-trauma positive changes or re-appraisal for successful adaptation may explain these findings.

Premorbid intelligence of inpatients with different psychiatric diagnoses does not differ.

The diagnostic specificity of poor premorbid intelligence is controversial. We explored premorbid intelligence level in psychiatric patients with personality disorders, depressive disorders, bipolar disorders and schizophrenic disorders. 273 consecutively admitted patients and 81 controls were included in the study and tested with the ‘Test di Intelligenza Breve’, an Italian adaptation of the National Adult Reading Test. Significant differences between the clinical samples and the control subjects were found but not among the 4 clinical groups. The observation of premorbid IQ deficits in subjects with diagnoses other than schizophrenia suggests a common vulnerability diathesis, which is most likely to have a neurodevelopmental basis.

THEORY OF MIND AND EMPATHY: THE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN?

the longitudinal predictive value of cognition in determining the final diagnoses of the first episode psychosis (FEP) samples analyzed. Methods: Eighty-three FEP patients were recruited and followedup during a 2 year follow up period after onset. Assessment included clinical interview, psychiatric evaluation (PANNS, Young Mania Scale, MADRS Depression Scale) neurocognitive (attention, processing speed, memory, language, executive functions) and functional assessment. Results: Logistic regression models revealed that executive dysfunction correctly classified patients with schizophrenia (87%), from patients with bipolar disorder (81.3%), and other psychoses (72.4%). The prediction was stable despite the inclusion of positive, negative, affective symptoms, and other cognitive tests into the model. Just Wisconsin Card Sorting Testcategories completed and percentage of perseverative errors, correctly classify up to 79.4% of patients. Discussion: These results showed that executive functioning, as measured with Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, may be a promising tool to use in basic clinical approach to FEP and schizophrenia. As far as the authors are aware, this is the first attempt to assess the longitudinal predictive value of neurocognitive performance and clinical symptoms on the clinical diagnosis after the FEP. Our results support Keefe et al suggestion (2007, 2008), of the importance of including cognition as a part of the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia.