Joëlle Lighezzolo-Alnot

An Accumulation of Negative Life Events and the Construction of Alexithymia: A Longitudinal and Clinical Approach

We began the study with a theoretical comparison of the concepts of alexithymia and operative thought in terms of etiology as well as with a specific approach to comparing the concepts using the Rorschach Inkblot Method (Rorschach, 1921) with both Exners (1986) Comprehensive System and the Parisian School (Chabert, 1983, 1987; Rausch de Traubenburg, 2000) methods of coding and interpretation. We then present a longitudinal clinical study of a woman suffering perinatal depression starting at 8 months gestation until 34 months postpartum. The case shows how an accumulation of stressful and traumatic life events in the early perinatal period generates a reactive, structured alexithymia. This psychic process transforms an initial acceptance of therapy into a refusal to engage in a therapeutic alliance along with persistent depressive symptoms, impaired quality of life, and maladaptive coping strategies.

Prevalence of Sexual Abuse in Childhood: Some Critical Methodological Reflections

This article attempts to analyze the prevalence rates of sexual abuse in childhood reported in comparative empirical studies, giving an overview of a selection of representative studies reporting high rates of abuse and comparing it to an overview of studies reporting lower rates. Extremely discrepant rates of childhood sexual abuse are reported in a number of empirical studies conducted in this field over the past 26 years, particularly those looking beyond prevalence to study the links between this type of trauma and future motherhood. To shed light on the disparities in the reported prevalence rates, the article reviews the principal methodological biases that have contaminated the findings. The authors then offer several suggestions for improvement that might be implemented in future studies.

Anxious and depressive symptoms in the French Asbestos-Related Diseases Cohort: risk factors and self-perception of risk.

Background Asbestos is known to be an independent risk factor for lung and pleural cancers. However, to date, little attention has been paid to the psychological effects of asbestos exposure among exposed subjects. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of anxious and depressive symptoms among >2000 French participants of the Asbestos-Related Diseases Cohort (ARDCO), 6 years after their inclusion, to identify the risk factors associated with those anxious and depressive symptoms and to evaluate the impact of the asbestos-risk perception. Methods The ARDCO was constituted in four regions of France between October 2003 and December 2005, by including former asbestos workers. Between 2011 and 2012, participants of the ARDCO program were invited to undergo another chest CT scan 6 years after the previous scan. Participants were asked to complete questionnaires including asbestos exposure assessment, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), asbestos-risk perception and self-perception of asbestos-related diseases. Results Among the 2225 participants, 2210 fully completed questionnaires were collected and analyzed. The prevalence of symptoms of probable anxiety and probable depression was 19.7% and 9.9%, respectively. The risk of anxious and depressive symptoms was independently associated with self-perception of the intensity of asbestos exposure, asbestos-risk perception and self-perception of asbestos-related diseases. Conclusion The results obtained in this large study confirm that previously asbestos-exposed subjects are likely to develop anxious and depressive symptoms. Finally, implications related to the prevention of anxiety and depression among asbestos-exposed workers is discussed.

Factors influencing spatial frequency extraction in faces: A review

JEANTET, C., Caharel, S., Schwan, R., Lighezzolo-Alnot, J., and Laprevote, V. Factors influencing spatial frequencies extraction in faces: a review. NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV REV XX(X) XXX-XXX, 2017. Spatial frequency is an elementary aspect of visual perception. Moreover, faces elicit distinct responses by the human visual system when compared to other visual objects. This review examines the factors influencing spatial frequency processing in faces. Visual perception of a face results from the interaction between the physical properties of the stimulus and the human visual system. We first review the methodology of visual stimulus production and presentation in the assessment of spatial frequency processing in faces. Image properties interact with the physical constraints of the visual system. Other cognitive phenomena also drive the processing of spatial frequencies in faces. Finally, the observers characteristics may further influence this spatial processing. Overall, the studies indicate that spatial frequency processing in faces is not a fixed process, conditioned by physical constraints alone, but a flexible process, dependent of various cognitive constraints, developmental, and health conditions. Finally, limitations and new challenges are discussed.

The evolution of birth medicalisation: A systematic review

First described at the beginning of the 1970s, the concept of birth medicalisation has experienced a theoretical and ideological evolution influenced by the lines of research that have been associated with it. This evolution has given rise to different schools of thought concerning medicalisation, but also various methodologies used in different scientific fields. It seems relevant to propose a global synthesis of the various lines of thought related to birth medicalisation. To do this, the authors conducted a systematic literature review based on the PRISMA method. With a total of 38 occurrences in French and English, the authors scrutinised 17 databases with a publication period between 1995 and 2018. A total of 112 documents (107 articles, 3 book chapters, 2 books) has been identified, grouped and categorised into five main themes in the results section (1) the theoretical evolution of the concept of medicalisation, (2) factors related to the birth medicalisation, (3) the impact of the birth medicalisation, (4) the humanisation of birth and (5) experiences related to childbirth. A reasoned synthesis of the literature is therefore carried out in each part and then discussed according to the selected lines of research that require development in order to guarantee the best possible accompaniment to women who give birth.

An objective signature of emotional expressions and context integration within a single glance: evidence from electroencephalographic frequency-tagging

The ability to quickly and accurately extract someones emotional state from their face is crucial for social interaction. Over the last decades, the processing of emotional expressions has been studied mainly using isolated faces. However, at the behavioral level, contextual information often leads to radical changes in the categorization of facial expressions, yet the underlying mechanisms are not well understood (Aviezer et al., 2017, Current Opinion in Psychology, 17, 47–54; Barrett et al., 2011, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 286 –290). Here we examined the impact of emotional visual scenes on the perception of emotional expressions within a single glance by means of fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS). We recorded 128-channel EEG while participants viewed 60s sequences with a dual frequency-tagging paradigm (Boremanse et al, 2013, Journal of Vision (11):6, 1-18). We presented faces and scenes simultaneously, with each stimulus set flickering at specific frequency (f1=4.61 Hz and f2=5.99 Hz; frequencies were counterbalanced across stimuli). Each sequence displayed different faces with the same emotional expression (disgust, fear, or joy) within either positive or negative valence visual scenes. Periodic EEG responses at the image presentation frequencies (4.61 Hz and 5.99 Hz) captured general visual processing of the emotional faces and scenes, while intermodulation components (e.g. f2-f1: 5.99 – 4.61 Hz = 1.38 Hz) captured the integration between the emotional expressions and their context. At the group-level, emotional expressions elicited right-lateralized occipito-temporal electrophysiological responses that were stronger for negative valence expressions (especially disgust). Similarly, negative scenes elicited stronger neural responses than positive scenes over the medial occipital region. Finally, and critically, we observed intermodulation components that were prominent over right occipito-temporal sites and showed increased response amplitude for negative scenes, thereby providing an objective demonstration of the perceptual integration of emotional facial expressions with their emotional context.

Child Sexual Abuse, Baby Gender, and Intergenerational Psychic Transmission: An Exploratory, Projective Psychoanalytic Approach.

The aim of this article is to present a French psychoanalytic model of how and to what extent the sequellae of sexual abuse by a male during a girls childhood are transmitted to the next generation, as a function of the gender of the abused mothers children. The authors conducted a qualitative exploratory study based on the longitudinal follow-up of a woman who had two boys and a girl. They focused on the impact of two general sequellae: separation anxiety and negativity-disqualification of the paternal and/or male figures. From the methodological standpoint, they used a clinical interview to assess the mother, and a projective tool, a storytelling test, to assess the childs personality using content analysis. The results confirm both the merits of the theoretical framework and the relevance of the projective methodology for grasping sequellae transmitted to the child. The sequellae turned out to be markedly different for the two baby genders: rejection for the male, overprotection and ghostly encryption for the female. Avenues for using this tool and model in future quantitative, comparative studies are suggested.

Comment faciliter l’orientation des sujets âgés en situation de handicap psychique vers une alternative sanitaire à l’hospitalisation ?

This paper is aimed to improve the socio-psycho-therapeutic support for older patients with heavy psychiatric disability. First, we review the literature to question the specific grounds reported by professionals regarding the orientation of these vulnerable subjects. Secondly, we emphasize that integration of these subjects within alternatives to hospitalization requires a type of support similar to that usually proposed, an accompaniment of psychosocial rehabilitation. Then, we propose to build an indicator called the psychosocial age, which reduces the weight of the chronological age for the orientation of these subjects. Ultimately, we question the health policies in psychiatry.