Rémy Bation

A randomized, controlled trial of computer-assisted cognitive remediation for schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE There is considerable interest in cognitive remediation for schizophrenia. Our study aimed to evaluate, in a large sample of patients with schizophrenia, the interest of a computer-assisted cognitive remediation program on cognitive performances of patients as well as in clinical and functional outcome. METHOD Seventy-seven patients with remitted schizophrenia were randomly assigned to 14 2-hours individual sessions of computer-assisted cognitive remediation (n=39) or a control condition (n=38). Remediation was performed using RehaCom ® software. Four procedures were chosen to train four cognitive functions involved in different stages of the information processing: attention/concentration, working memory, logic, and executive functions. Primary outcomes were remediation exercise metrics, neuropsychological composites (episodic memory, working memory, attention, executive functioning, and processing speed), clinical and community functioning measures. RESULTS Cognitive performances concerning Attention/vigilance, verbal working memory and verbal learning memory and reasoning/problem solving improved significantly in the remediation condition when no difference was reported in the control condition between the 2 assessments. However, there were no significant benefits of cognitive remediation on non-verbal working memory and learning and speed of processing or functional outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS Cognitive remediation for people with schizophrenia was effective in improving performance, but the benefits of training did not generalize to functional outcome measures. Long term follow-up studies are needed to confirm the maintenance of such improvements.

Resting-State Functional Connectivity of the Nucleus Accumbens in Auditory and Visual Hallucinations in Schizophrenia

Both auditory hallucinations (AH) and visual hallucinations may occur in schizophrenia. One of the main hypotheses underlying their occurrence involves the increased activity of the mesolimbic pathway, which links the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). However, the precise contribution of the mesolimbic pathway in hallucinations across various sensory modalities has not yet been explored. We compared the resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) of the NAcc among 16 schizophrenia patients with pure AH, 15 with both visuoauditory hallucinations (VAH), and 14 without hallucinations (NoH). A between-group comparison was performed using random-effects ANCOVA (rs-FC of the bilateral NAcc as the dependent variable, groups as the between-subjects factor, age and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale scores as covariates; q(false discovery rate [FDR]) < .05). Compared to the NoH group, the AH group exhibited significantly enhanced NAcc rs-FC with the left temporal superior gyrus, the cingulate gyri, and the VTA, whereas the VAH group, compared to the AH group, exhibited significantly enhanced NAcc rs-FC with the bilateral insula, putamen, parahippocampal gyri, and VTA. The strength in rs-FC between the NAcc and the VTA appeared to be positively associated with the presence of hallucinations, but the NAcc FC patterns changed with the complexity of these experiences (ie, 0, 1, or 2 sensory modalities), rather than with severity. This might support the aberrant salience hypothesis of schizophrenia. Moreover, these findings suggest that future clinical and neurobiological studies of hallucinations should evaluate not only the global severity of symptoms but also their sensorial features.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Systematic Review

Despite the advances in psychopharmacology and established psychotherapeutic interventions, more than 40% of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) do not respond to conventional treatment approaches. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been recently proposed as a therapeutic tool to alleviate treatment-resistant symptoms in patients with OCD. The aim of this review was to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art and future clinical applications of tDCS in patients with OCD. A literature search conducted on the PubMed database following PRISMA guidelines and completed by a manual search yielded 12 results: eight case reports, three open-label studies (with 5, 8, and 42 participants), and one randomized trial with two active conditions (12 patients). There was no sham-controlled study. A total of 77 patients received active tDCS with a large diversity of electrode montages mainly targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the orbitofrontal cortex or the (pre-) supplementary motor area. Despite methodological limitations and the heterogeneity of stimulation parameters, tDCS appears to be a promising tool to decrease obsessive-compulsive symptoms as well as comorbid depression and anxiety in patients with treatment-resistant OCD. Further sham-controlled studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results.

Dépression résistante : les stratégies de changement et d’association de médicaments antidépresseurs

Switching antidepressant medication may be helpful in depressed patients having no benefit from the initial antidepressant treatment. Before considering switching strategy, the initial antidepressant treatment should produce no therapeutic effect after at least 4 weeks of administration at adequate dosage. Choosing an antidepressant of pharmacologically distinct profile fails to consistently demonstrate a significant superiority in terms of effectiveness over the switching to another antidepressant within the same pharmacological class. Augmenting SSRI/SNRIs with mirtazapine/mianserin has become the most recommended strategy of antidepressant combinations. Augmenting SSRI with tricyclic drugs is now a less recommended strategy of antidepressant combinations given the increased risk for the occurrence of pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions and adverse effects.

Recurrent Self-Limited Hyperthermia Following ECT for Catatonia in a Young Man with Cerebral Palsy

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a safe and highly effective treatment for certain major mental disorders, including major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and certain forms of schizophrenia. The most frequently reported side effects are anterograde amnesia, post-ictal confusion, nausea, headache, myalgia, oral lacerations, and dental injuries. Hyperthermia is not commonly described as a side-effect of ECT. Examination of older texts find reports of fevers occurring after seizures, 1 but the occurrence of hyperthermia after ECT has not been reported since then. We report the case of a patient who experienced four transient high-grade fever episodes following ECT. We provide a differential diagnosis of fever in this particular clinical setting and raise the hypothesis of a neurogenic fever induced by ECT.

Dépression résistante : les stratégies de potentialisation

Lithium is among the most classically recommended add-on therapeutic strategy for the management of depressive patients showing unsuccessful response to standard antidepressant medications. The effectiveness of the add-on strategy with lithium requires achieving plasma levels above 0.5 mEq/L. Mood-stabilizing antiepileptic drugs such as carbamazepine, valproate derivatives or lamotrigine have not demonstrated conclusive therapeutic effects for the management of depressive patients showing unsuccessful response to standard antidepressant medications. Thyroid hormones are considered among the currently recommended add-on therapeutic strategy for the management of depressive patients showing unsuccessful response to standard antidepressant medications. The effectiveness of the add-on strategy with thyroid hormones requires achieving plasma concentration of TSH close to the lower limits at the normal range (0.4 μUI/L) or even below it. Second-generation antipsychotics such as aripiprazole or quetiapine have consistently demonstrated significant therapeutic effects for the management of depressive patients showing unsuccessful response to standard antidepressant medications. Second-generation antipsychotics however require the careful monitoring of both cardiovascular and metabolic adverse effects.

N-Acetyl-Aspartate in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in men with schizophrenia and auditory verbal hallucinations: A 1.5 T Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study

Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) in patients with schizophrenia are linked to abnormalities within a large cerebral network including frontal and temporal regions. Whilst abnormalities of frontal speech production and temporal speech perception regions have been extensively studied, alterations of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a region critically involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, have rarely been studied in relation to AVH. Using 1.5 T proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, this study examined the relationship between right and left DLPFCs N-AcetylAspartate (NAA) levels and the severity of AVH in patients with schizophrenia. Twenty-seven male patients with schizophrenia were enrolled in this study, 15 presented daily treatment-resistant AVH (AVH+) and 12 reported no AVH (no-AVH). AVH+ patients displayed higher NAA levels in the right DLPFC than no-AVH patients (p = 0.033). In AVH+ patients, NAA levels were higher in the right DLPFC than in the left (p = 0.024). No difference between the right and left DLPFC was observed in no-AVH patients. There was a positive correlation between NAA levels in the right DLPFC and the severity of AVH (r = 0.404, p = 0.037). Despite limited by magnetic field strength, these results suggest that AVH may be associated with increased NAA levels in the right DLPFC in schizophrenia.

Switching and combining strategies of antidepressant medications

Switching antidepressant medication may be helpful in depressed patients having no benefit from the initial antidepressant treatment. Before considering switching strategy, the initial antidepressant treatment should produce no therapeutic effect after at least 4 weeks of administration at adequate dosage. Choosing an antidepressant of pharmacologically distinct profile fails to consistently demonstrate a significant superiority in terms of effectiveness over the switching to another antidepressant within the same pharmacological class. Augmenting SSRI/SNRIs with mirtazapine/mianserin has become the most recommended strategy of antidepressant combinations. Augmenting SSRI with tricyclic drugs is now a less recommended strategy of antidepressant combinations given the increased risk for the occurrence of pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions and adverse effects.