bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The impact of Mild Behavioral Impairment on the individual’s level of psychological, social, and occupational functioning
Authors: Elefante C. , Brancati G.E. , Gemmellaro T. , Ricciardulli S. , Romeo F. , Torrigiani S. , Pistolesi G. , Amadori S. , Lattanzi L. , Perugi G. 
Published: September 2022

IntroductionMild behavioral impairment (MBI) is a neurobehavioral syndrome characterized by later-life emergent neuropsychiatric symptoms, which represent an at-risk state for incident cognitive decline and dementia.ObjectivesOur obective was to prospectively evaluate the impact of MBI on global functioning in patients ≥ 50 years with a major depressive episode (MDE) at baseline.MethodsWe recruited 51 patients ≥ 50 years presenting with a MDE at the outpatient clinic of the 2nd Psychiatric Unit of the University of Pisa. Then we selected those patients who had a follow-up of at least two months and excluded subjects with a neurodegenerative disease. The included patients (N = 25) were subdivided in a subgroup with MBI and a subgroup without MBI. The subgroups have been compared for the difference between baseline and follow-up score in global functioning according Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. Comparative analyses were conducted by means of mixed anova.ResultsThere was a significant interaction effect between time and the MBI condition (F[1, 23] = 4.12, p = 0.05 η p 2 = 0.15). Descriptive statistics showed that while patients without MBI showed higher GAF score at follow-up (mean = 65.12) compared to GAF score at baseline (mean = 54.37), patients with MBI showed, on average, the same GAF score at follow-up (mean = 54.44) and at baseline (mean = 54.44).ConclusionsIn patients with MDE, the presence of MBI is related to a lack of improvement in psychological, social, and occupational functioning in the short-termDisclosureNo significant relationships.
Diagnosing dementia in the Arctic: translating tools and developing and validating an algorithm for assessment of impaired cognitive function in Greenland Inuit
Authors: Kleist I. , Noahsen P. , Gredal O. , Riis J. , Andersen S. 
Published: September 2022

IntroductionThe ageing Arctic populations raise the need for work-up of cognitive function that reflects language and cultural understandings.ObjectivesTo translate and evaluate tools for work-up of cognitive impairment in Greenland.MethodsStep A: An expert panel was established to select tools suitable for the work-up of cognitive impairment at three different settings in Greenland. Step B: Tools were translated in a multiple-step process of independent translations with back-translation and adaptations by two independent translators and two Greenlandic physicians. Step C: a testing and validation process of the tools at three locations: the national hospital in the capital city; regional hospital in a town; health care centre in a small town.ResultsTools selected were Mini-Cog and RUDAS. Participants for testing of tools were 43 of 61 invited, of which six had dementia. RUDAS and Mini-Cog scores were associated (p < 0.001). The smoothed AUC was 0.87 (95%-CI, 0.65–0.95) for Mini-Cog and 0.90 (95%-CI, 0.76–0.97) for RUDAS. The sensitivity of Mini-Cog with a cut-off at ≤3 was 83.3%, and specificity was 62.2%. For RUDAS with a cut-off at ≤23, these were 100% and 75.7%, respectively.ConclusionsRequested tools have been translated for assessing cognitive function in the native Arctic setting. Small town residents with a Mini-Cog score of 3 or lower should be referred to a regional hospital for RUDAS, and a score of 23 or less should cause referral to the national hospital for a full work-up of cognitive function.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Measuring neuropsychiatric symptoms in early dementia patients using speech analysis
Authors: König A. , Mallick E. , Linz N. , Zegahri R. , Manera V. , Robert P. 
Published: September 2022

IntroductionCertain neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS), namely apathy, depression and anxiety demonstrated great value in predicting dementia progression representing eventually an opportunity window for timely diagnosis and treatment. However, sensitive and objective markers of these symptoms are still missing.ObjectivesTo investigate the association between automatically extracted speech features and NPS in early-stage dementia patients.MethodsSpeech of 141 patients aged 65 or older with neurocognitive disorder was recorded while performing two short narrative speech tasks. Presence of NPS was assessed by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Paralinguistic markers relating to prosodic, formant, source, and temporal qualities of speech were automatically extracted, correlated with NPS. Machine learning experiments were carried out to validate the diagnostic power of extracted markers.ResultsDifferent speech variables seem to be associated with specific neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia; apathy correlates with temporal aspects, anxiety with voice quality and this was mostly consistent between male and female after correction for cognitive impairment. Machine learning regressors are able to extract information from speech features and perform above baseline in predicting anxiety, apathy and depression scores.ConclusionsDifferent NPS seem to be characterized by distinct speech features which in turn were easily extractable automatically from short vocal tasks. These findings support the use of speech analysis for detecting subtypes of NPS. This could have great implications for future clinical trials.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Prosocial behavior according to sex in school adolescents immersed in violent contexts in the department of Córdoba, Colombia
Authors: Ruiz Gonzalez E.P. , Romero Otalvaro A.M. , Velez Carvajal J. , Seña Giraldo K. , Tuiran Catalan M. 
Published: September 2022

IntroductionFour specific forms of violence have been identified in the socialization process of children, and these are: “violent discipline and exposure to domestic abuse; violence at school; violent deaths among adolescents; and sexual violence ”. (UNICEF, 2017, p2), In this regard Redondo & Inglés (2014) affirm that it is increasingly evident the need to promote prosocial behavior models based on empathy and assertiveness in educational institutions, in order to avoid the appearance of violent demonstrations.ObjectivesAnalyze the levels of prosocial behavior according to sex in adolescentsMethodsA descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in 105 (N = 105) adolescents. A sociodemographic survey was used to investigate aspects related to the study objective and the Prosocial Behavior questionnaire by Martorell and Gonzales (1922) to measure prosocial behavior.Results57.7% of the adolescents evaluated presented adequate prosocial behaviors. When examining the difference between sex, the expected values were initially verified, which indicated the feasibility of performing a student’s T; As can be seen in Table 1, the mean corresponding to the female sex was 49.62%, in contrast to a mean of 49.93% for the male sex, indicating the absence of statistically significant differences.ConclusionsIt was concluded that the higher the optimal levels of empathy, the lower the aggressive behavior presented by teenagers.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
EEG Markers of Suicidal Ideation in Depressive Female Adolescents
Authors: Iznak A. , Iznak E. , Medvedeva T. , Damyanovich E. , Oleichik I. 
Published: September 2022

IntroductionTimely detection of suicidal thoughts is one of the ways to prevent suicide. Use the psychiatric interview only for this purpose in adolescents is often insufficient due to poor compliance. Thus, the search for objective neurophysiological markers of suicidal ideation in adolescents seems to be actual.ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to reveal the relationships between pre-treatment EEG parameters and intensity of suicidal ideation in depressive female adolescents.Methods72 female depressive patients (all right-handed, age 16–25, mean 18,2±2.6 years old) were enrolled in the study. Pre-treatment total HDRS-17 scores varied from 13 to 43 (mean 26,9±7.5). Multichannel eyes closed EEG was recorded, and absolute spectral power was calculated in 8 narrow frequency sub-bands. All patients answered the inventory on intensity of suicidal thoughts. Spearman’s correlations between pre-treatment EEG parameters and suicidal ideation scores were analyzed.ResultsScores of intensity of suicidal ideation correlated positively (p<0.05÷0.01) with values of EEG alpha2 (9-11 Hz) spectral power in F7, F8, F4, C3, C4, T4, P4 and O2 EEG leads, as well as with values of EEG delta (2-4 Hz) spectral power in F7, F3 and C3 EEG leads (p<0.05).ConclusionsThe intensity of suicidal ideation in depressive female adolescents associates with wide propagation of EEG alpha2, especially over the right hemisphere, and with EEG signs of decreased functional state of anterior regions of the left hemisphere. The study supported by RBRF grant No.20-013-00129a.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
An 8-year longitudinal study of long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics. Prescription trends and therapeutic drug monitoring to inform precision dosing
Authors: Piacentino D. , Carpi F. , Giupponi G. , Conca A. 
Published: September 2022

IntroductionDespite the widespread use of long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics in schizophrenia and other disorders, there is a lack of longitudinal studies evaluating prescription trends and the usefulness of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) to inform dosing. Indeed, LAI prescription varies greatly among different areas of the world and over the years.ObjectivesAssess trends in LAI prescription in 2013-2020 at the Psychiatry Department of Bozen, Italy, and (2) analyze the correlation between dose of prescribed LAIs and blood levels measured via TDM.MethodsParametric statistics.ResultsLAIs were administered to 471 patients (x̅ age±SD=47.2±16.3 years; 56.3% men). The pie chart shows LAI treatment duration, i.e., from 1 to 7 consecutive years. The most used LAIs were haloperidol in 2013-2104 (26.5-31.8%) and paliperidone in 2015-2020 (22.5-25.7%). Dose adjustments were rather frequent, whereas the switch between LAI, due to moderate-to-side effects or unsatisfactory improvement of clinical status, was infrequent (41 cases/8 years). LAI interruption for the same reasons or non-compliance was even more infrequent (10 cases), but in 8 cases it happened for opposite reasons, i.e., achievement of patients’ stabilization and good compliance. The Table shows doses and plasma levels of LAIs. Correlations between doses and plasma levels were: haloperidol: r=-0.037, p=0.620; paliperidone: r=0.290; p=0.000; risperidone: r=0.219, p=0.006; fluphenazine r=0.358, p=0.000; aripiprazole: r=-0.051, p=0.610; olanzapine: r=-0.090, p=0.634.ConclusionsHaloperidol and paliperidone were the most used LAIs. Drug prescription trends and doses were stable over time. A significant positive correlation between dose and plasma level was found for paliperidone, fluphenazine, and aripiprazole.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Impact of central antagonist of cholecystokinin-1 receptors GB-115 on cognitive functions in patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Authors: Dorofeeva O. , Metlina M. , Chepeliuk A. , Vinogradova M. 
Published: September 2022

IntroductionGeneralized anxiety disorder (GAD) is associated with reduced attention, inhibition, decrease of processing speed. The impact of a new peptide antagonist of central cholecystokinin-1 receptors (GB-115) on cognitive processes in patients with GAD is reported.ObjectivesTo research the cognitive effects of GB-115 in patients with GAD.Methods25 patients with GAD in ICD-10 (mean age 35,76±8,55 years) treated with GB-115 in clinically relevant dose (6 mg/d) were enrolled to the study. The evaluation of cognitive functions was conducted at background, Day 3, Day 7, Day 14 and Day 21. The laboratory test toolkit included reaction time test, Shulte-Platonov tables, attention tests (using hardware and software complex “NeuroSoft-PsychoTest”). Statistical significance was ascertained by Wilcoxon signed-rank
test.ResultsSpeed of reaction time increased on the Day 7 (418,17±61,49 msec, p≤0,01), the Day 14 (422,25±70,69 msec, p≤0,01) and the Day 21 of treatment (406,5±52,79 msec, p≤0,01) in comparison with background (449,19±64,91). Attention parameters improved on the Day 3 (305,95±45,31 msec, p≤0,05) and the Day 21 of treatment (300,14±47,74 msec, p≤0,05) in comparison with the background (316,41±42,35 msec). Decrease of time in performance of tables of Shulte-Platonov was also observed on the Day 7 (59,40±13,71 sec, p≤0,01), the Day 14 (57,88±12,82 sec, p≤0,01) and the Day 21 (53,40±13,19 sec, p≤0,01) in comparison with the background (68,84±16,78 sec).ConclusionsGB-115 revealed cognitive effects such as an increase of processing speed and improvement of different aspects of attention (attentional resource allocation, attention span and switching) after the Day 7 of treatment.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Practicing Psychiatry in the Transitional Period: Lessons Learnt and Issues of the Steps Towards the New Normal
Authors: Al-Uzri M. 
Published: September 2022

The arrival of Covid-19 had huge impact on all aspects of life and psychiatry was no exception. Significant changes to mental health services were introduced to reduce the risk of infection among the inpatient population, patients in the community and in outpatients consultations. Use of virtual consultations in the community and stringent infection control in inpatient setting are examples of many. Those changes were associated with significant differences in patients’ presentation and access to services. Multiple studies reported increased proportion of psychotic patients being admitted to inpatient care. However, there were no reports on increased suicide contrary to the expectation. This is despite increased reports of mental distress, depression, and anxiety in the wider population. These reports are consistent with our knowledge of mental health problems reported in times of wars and disasters. Hence, some of the learning from experience proved relevant when facing this pandemic. Unfortunately, Covid-19 continues to represent a challenge and relaxing of the restrictions introduced were short-lived with every variant reported. In addition, some of the changes adopted by mental health services proved to be innovative and more efficient way of delivering care in psychiatry. Therefore, the early indications suggest that some of those changes would become the new normal.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Effects of Covid-19 restrictions on IPS service delivery in Northern Norway
Authors: Wittlund S. 
Published: September 2022

IntroductionIndividual Placement and Support (IPS) is an evidence-based supported employment program that helps people with severe mental illness to achieve steady meaningful employment in competitive mainstream jobs. Employment specialists are an integral part of IPS service delivery. The primary goal of an employment specialist is to help IPS users obtain competitive employment by providing targeted job development and ongoing support to workers and employers for as long as it is required.ObjectivesThis study aims to investigate the impact of the covid-19 restrictions on the delivery of IPS services in Northern Norway and how this may have affected the employment specialists’ perception their work environment.MethodsWe conducted four phases of a longitudinal work environment panel survey with the IPS employment specialists in Northern Norway. Phase 1: January-February 2020 (pre-covid), phase 2: June-July 2020 (during covid) and phase 3: October-November 2020 (during covid) were not related to covid and collected data on fourteen work environment indicators. Phase 4: October 2020 was a covid specific survey and collected data about the impact of covid-19 restrictions on IPS service delivery.ResultsEmployment specialists perceived that they had less collaborative engagement with clinical teams and employers after covid-19 restrictions were introduced. This was accompanied by a significant decline in four of the employment specialists’ work environment indicators.ConclusionsThe covid-19 restrictions appear to have created obstacles for IPS service delivery in Northern Norway. These challenges may have negatively impacted the employment specialists’ perception of their work environment, creating job dissatisfaction and potentially increasing employee attrition.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
The impact of constitutive mTORC1 hyperactivity on structural synaptic plasticity and social behaviour under standard conditions and environmental enrichment
Authors: Granak S. , Tuckova K. , Kutna V. , Vojtechova I. , Bajkova L. , Petrasek T. , Ovsepian S. 
Published: September 2022

IntroductionAutism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of neurodevelopmental disabilities causing major social, communication, and behavioural challenges. Although causative roles of altered genes and environment are recognized, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive.ObjectivesWe carried out a longitudinal analysis of morphological correlates of synaptic plasticity in the cortex with an array of neuro-behavioural tests in Tsc2 loss-of-function ASD rats with persistent mTORC1 hyperactivity.MethodsDendritic spine density and morphology with astroglial response were analysed along with behavioural tests in 45 d.o., 90 d.o. and 12 m.o. age groups maintained under standard or enriched conditions.ResultsWe report a higher density of spines, with a bigger proportion of thin spines in 90 d. o. Tsc2+/- rats, while under enrichment the spine density in 12 m.o groups was lower. In behavioural tests, rats under enrichment showed higher activity in open arms and anogenital contact tests in the second and third age groups. They also showed enhanced self-grooming. Total distance travelled in the open field by Tsc2+/- rats was less in the first and second age groups. Confocal imaging showed an increase in pS6 expression in second and third Tsc2+/- groups, implying mTORC1 hyperactivity.ConclusionsOur results show that the environment may have differential neuro-behavioural impacts in rats with unleashed mTORC1, in agreement with the two-hit mechanisms of the underlying neuro-behavioural effects in this model. Although the results of the morphometric analysis suggest a causal link between behavioural changes with altered synaptic plasticity, the mechanisms and involved signalling remain to be defined.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Correlation between social functioning and quality of life in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia
Authors: Ristic B. , Batinic B. 
Published: September 2022

IntroductionSocial dysfunction is a significant feature of schizophrenia leading to deminution of quality of life (QoL).ObjectivesTo explore the correlation between social functioning and quality of life in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.MethodsThe study sample comprised 32 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (24 males and 8 females) recruited from the Clinic for mental disorders “Dr Laza Lazarevic” in Belgrade, with a mean age of 41.28 years (min 24, max 62), assessed by the Social Functioning Scale (SFS) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF).ResultsThere were two significant quasi-canonical positive correlations between social functioning and QoL (1: f-test=16.4, p=.001; 2: f-test=23, p=0.0001.) The first structure is formed through the set of SFS subscales- Recreation, Independence-performance and Independence-competence and set of QoL subscales- Mental health, Physical health, Environment and General assessment of QoL. The second structure is formed through the set of SFS subscales- Interpersonal functioning and Social engagement/withdrawal and the set of QoL subscales- General assessment of QoL and Environment. Furthermore, the first canonical component indicates a greater overlap of the opposition set by social functioning (23%) which leads to the assumption that the direction of influence goes from social functioning to QoL. Due to the equality of redundancy in the second canonical component, the direction of influence can only be inferred on the basis of the first canonical component.ConclusionsSocial functioning and quality of life are related in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, and this relationship is based on specific subfactors within those areas.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Digitised remote delivery of simulation in psychiatry during the pandemic and for the future
Authors: Mudunkotuwe J. , Mannali V. , Henry J. , Clift J. , Strickland P. 
Published: September 2022

IntroductionSurrey and Borders NHS Foundation Trust’s AVATr (Augmented Virtual-reality Avatar in Training) is a unique ground-breaking Virtual Patient simulation system, which uses the Xenodu platform to train learners in essential clinical and complex communication skills. Over 30 patient scenarios have been developed after identifying learner-specific development needs, including exploration of overt psychosis, assessment of capacity, sharing bad news, and neglect in care home residents.During the session, the trainee is projected on to a large screen, using a camera and video special effects, which results in a life-like interaction with the Virtual Patient. Trainees can view themselves interacting with the Virtual Patient in real-time, from a unique ’out-of-body’ perspective, immersed in a customdesigned interactive virtual environment. This is different to a first-person perspective used in virtual or augmented-reality systems in several clinical specialties. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we evolved the AVATr model to remote or hybrid sessions, where simulations were digitally enhanced, and have been run through Microsoft Teams. The simulation facilitator is connected to a multi-user video call, enabling the Virtual Patient to be projected as an attendee using Microsoft Teams.ObjectivesTo evaluate the feedback from Doctors in training taking part on the education sessions.MethodsWe collected qualitiative and quanttaive infromation from participants after the teaching session.ResultsWe received strongly positive reults in all parameters measured. the presenters will show a detailed breakdoen in the session.ConclusionsThe digitalised delivery of the virtual patient simulation, has been pivotal in limiting interruptions to communication skills training in mental health.DisclosureThe NHS trust has co produced the simulation platform with a private software firm Xenadu Virtual Environments