Fingerprints as Predictors of Schizophrenia: A Deep Learning Study.

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS: The existing developmental bond between fingerprint generation and growth of the central nervous system points to a potential use of fingerprints as risk markers in schizophrenia. However, the high complexity of fingerprints geometrical patterns may require flexible algorithms capable of characterizing such complexity. STUDY DESIGN: Based on an initial sample of scanned fingerprints from 612 patients with a diagnosis of non-affective psychosis and 844 healthy subjects, we have built deep learning classification algorithms based on convolutional neural networks. Previously, the general architecture of the network was chosen from exploratory fittings carried out with an independent fingerprint dataset from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The network architecture was then applied for building classification algorithms (patients vs controls) based on single fingers and multi-input models. Unbiased estimates of classification accuracy were obtained by applying a 5-fold cross-validation scheme. STUDY RESULTS: The highest level of accuracy from networks based on single fingers was achieved by the right thumb network (weighted validation accuracy = 68%), while the highest accuracy from the multi-input models was attained by the model that simultaneously used images from the left thumb, index and middle fingers (weighted validation accuracy = 70%). CONCLUSION: Although fitted models were based on data from patients with a well established diagnosis, since fingerprints remain lifelong stable after birth, our results imply that fingerprints may be applied as early predictors of psychosis. Specially, if they are used in high prevalence subpopulations such as those of individuals at high risk for psychosis.

A randomized study on the efficacy of the Social Cognition Training Program-brief version in a sample of patients with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: In recent years, various interventions have been developed to train social cognition in schizophrenia, which have been shown to be effective in improving emotional processing, theory of mind and social perception, as well as community functioning. One of these interventions is the Social Cognition Training Program (SCTP), a program consisting of 24 sessions. For the present study we developed a brief version of 12 sessions with the aim to improve its applicability. To evaluate the effectiveness of this version, a randomized controlled trial was conducted comparing the SCTP to a neurocognitive training. METHOD: The trial was conducted with a sample of 299 patients with schizophrenia, with assessments conducted at baseline, posttreatment, and 6- and 12-month follow up. The assessment protocol included tests of emotion recognition, theory of mind, attributional style, symptomatology, community functioning, and neurocognitive functioning. RESULTS: The results obtained showed that the patients of the experimental group improved in the recognition of the emotions of sadness, anger, and fear, and in the first- and second-order theory of mind. However, no significant improvement was observed in the measures of community functioning. Improvements in first- and second-order theory of mind but not emotion recognition persisted at follow ups. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Results obtained showed that deficits in social cognition can be ameliorated, although it could be necessary to have booster sessions to maintain the benefits of the training and to complement the SCPT with another type of interventions aimed specifically at transferring the benefits of social cognition training to "real" life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotion recognition in patients with schizophrenia: The role of sex.

BACKGROUND: Despite the abundant research on emotion recognition in schizophrenia, there are still some issues about which there is no conclusive data. The present study examined one these issues: the role that sex plays in emotion recognition. METHOD: The sample consisted of 440 participants, 220 patients with schizophrenia and 220 controls. Measures of the six basic emotions, psychopathology, and cognitive functioning were taken. The data were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: Controls perceived all emotions, except happiness, better than patients. In the patient group three main results were obtained: 1) men recognized disgust and neutral expressions better than women; 2) happiness and sadness were better recognized on female faces, while disgust and neutral expressions were better recognized on male faces; and 3) a significant interaction was seen between the stimulus sex and the participant sex only for the fear emotion. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained support the hypothesis that deficits in the recognition of emotions is a core feature of schizophrenia that affects both men and women to the same extent. There is no clear pattern of interaction between the sex of the perceiver and the sex of the photograph used as a stimulus.

Neurocognition functioning as a prerequisite to intact social cognition in schizophrenia.

Introduction: There are mixed findings regarding the relationships between neurocognition and social cognition in schizophrenia. This study aims to provide new empirical evidence to help determine the relationships between these constructs in schizophrenia.Methods: 299 stabilised patients with schizophrenia aged 18-65 years old were recruited. After having into account exclusion criteria, final sample was contained 284 patients. The Emotion Recognition Assessment Test (ERAT) was used to assess six basic emotions. To assess the theory of mind (ToM), the Hinting Task and the Faux-Pas Test were used, and the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP) was administered to assess cognitive functioning. Bivariate and multivariate analyses (partial correlations, canonical correlation, regression analysis, and confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis) were conducted.Results: Statistically significant relationships were found between the subtests of the SCIP and social cognitive measures. The redundancy coefficient in the canonical analysis was 0.13. The CFA analysis showed that the best model has a two-factor structure, in which neurocognition and social cognition are correlated factors. Less than 10% of patients with impaired cognitive functioning have a performance within normal range on social cognition tests.Conclusions: The findings show that neurocognition and social cognition are independent but related constructs.

Faux-Pas Test: A Proposal of a Standardized Short Version.

Previous research on theory of mind suggests that people with schizophrenia have difficulties with complex mentalization tasks that involve the integration of cognition and affective mental states. One of the tools most commonly used to assess theory of mind is the Faux-Pas Test. However, it presents two main methodological problems: 1) the lack of a standard scoring system; 2) the different versions are not comparable due to a lack of information on the stories used. These methodological problems make it difficult to draw conclusions about performance on this test by people with schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to develop a reduced version of the Faux-Pas test with adequate psychometric properties. The test was administered to control and clinical groups. Interrater and test-retest reliability were analyzed for each story in order to select the set of 10 stories included in the final reduced version. The shortened version showed good psychometric properties for controls and patients: test-retest reliability of 0.97 and 0.78, inter-rater reliability of 0.95 and 0.87 and Cronbach's alpha of 0.82 and 0.72.

Adaptation into Spanish of the Internalised Stigma of Mental Illness scale to assess personal stigma. / Adaptación al español de la escala Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness para valorar el estigma personal.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with schizophrenia sometimes internalise social stigma associated to mental illness, and they develop personal stigma. Personal stigma includes self-stigma (internalisation of negative stereotypes), perceived stigma (perception of rejection), and experienced stigma (experiences of discrimination). Personal stigma is linked with a poorer treatment adherence, and worst social functioning. For this reason, it is important to have good measurements of personal stigma. One of the most frequently used measurements is the Internalised Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) scale. There is a Spanish version of the scale available, although its psychometric properties have not been studied. The main aim of this study is to analyse the psychometric properties of a new Spanish version of the ISMI scale. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The new version was translated as Estigma Interiorizado de Enfermedad Mental (EIEM). Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were calculated in a sample of 69 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The rate of patients showing personal stigma was also studied, as well as the relationship between personal stigma and sociodemographic and clinical variables. RESULTS: The adapted version obtained good values of internal consistency and test-retest reliability, for the total score of the scale (0.91 and 0.95 respectively), as well as for the five subscales of the EIEM, except for the Stigma Resistance subscale (Cronbach's alpha 0.42). CONCLUSIONS: EIEM is an appropriate measurement tool to assess personal stigma in a Spanish population with severe mental disorder, at least in those with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

Efficacy of the Social Cognition Training Program in a Sample of Outpatients with Schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: Social cognition is recognized to be a deficit in individuals suffering from schizophrenia. Numerous studies have explored the relationship between social cognition and social functioning in outpatients with schizophrenia through the use of different social cognition training programs. This study examines the efficacy of the Social Cognition Training Program (PECS in Spanish) in adults with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. METHODS: Data were derived from a sample of 44 non-hospitalized adult patients who presented with a DSM-IV-TR Axis I diagnosis of schizophrenia and 39 healthy controls. The 44 patients were divided into an experimental group (n=20) and a control task group (n=24) that received cognitive training. Healthy controls did not receive any treatment. Sociodemographic and clinical variables correlates were computed. The 2-way ANOVA was conducted to examine differences between groups in pre- and post-treatment measures. Intragroup differences were explored using the paired-samples t-test. RESULTS: At the end of the training, patients in the experimental group showed a higher performance compared to patients in the control task group in the Hinting Task Test and in the emotion recognition of sadness, anger, fear, and disgust. CONCLUSIONS: The PECS proved to be effective in the improvement of some areas of theory of mind and emotion recognition in outpatients with schizophrenia. The PECS is one of the first programs developed in Spanish to train social cognition, and the data obtained support the importance of expanding the social cognition programs to non-English language samples.

Efficacy of the Social Cognition Training Program in a sample of schizophrenic outpatients.

Objective: Social cognition is recognized to be a deficit in individuals suffering from schizophrenia. Numerous studies have explored the relationship between social cognition and social functioning in outpatients with schizophrenia through the use of different social cognition training programs. This study examines the efficacy of the Social Cognition Training Program (PECS in Spanish) in adults with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Methods: Data were derived from a sample of 44 non-hospitalized adult patients, who presented with a DSM-IV-R Axis I diagnosis of schizophrenia, and 39 healthy controls. Patients were divided into an experimental group and a control task group, that received cognitive training. Healthy controls did not receive any treatment. Sociodemographic and clinic variables correlates were computed. 2-way ANOVA was conducted to examine differences between groups in pre and post-treatment measures. Intragroup differences were explores using the paired-samples t-test. Results: At the end of the training, patients in the experimental group showed a higher performance compared to patients in the control task group, in the Hinting Task Test and in the emotion recognition of sadness, anger, fear, and disgust. Conclusions: The PECS proved to be effective in the improvement of some areas of theory of mind and emotion recognition, in outpatients with schizophrenia. The PECS is one of the first programs developed in Spanish to train social cognition, and the data obtained support the importance of expand the social cognition programs to non-English language samples.

El insight en la esquizofrenia y su relación con variables afectivas, cognitivas y psicopatológicas / Insight into schizophrenia and its relationship to affective, cognitive and psychopathological variables

La investigación sobre el insight ha concluido que se trata de una variable multidimensional, que se relaciona con otras variables como la sintomatología psicótica, el deterioro cognitivo y la depresión. En el presente estudio, realizado con una muestra de 136 sujetos diagnosticados de esquizofrenia, los autores plantean verificar un estudio anterior en el que establecían la existencia de dos factores del insight: un factor psicótico y un factor cognitivo. El primero hace referencia a un conocimiento general de la enfermedad, que correlaciona con la sintomatología psicótica. El factor cognitivo se refiere a un conocimiento más amplio y específico de la enfermedad y requiere el funcionamiento preservado de ciertas áreas cognitivas. Asimismo, se plantea estudiar la relación entre las diferentes dimensiones del insight y variables como la depresión, la ansiedad y las ideas de suicidio. Los resultados obtenidos corroboran la existencia de ambos factores. El factor psicótico se relacionó con la depresión y la ansiedad, mientras que el factor cognitivo no. Se discuten las consecuencias terapéuticas de estos resultados.

[Cognitive complaints in schizophrenia: relationship with insight and other cognitive measures]. / Percepción subjetiva de déficit cognitivos en esquizofrenia: su relación con insight y otras medidas cognitivas.

INTRODUCTION: Individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia have significant cognitive deficits. However, the subjective perception of these deficits do not always coincide with the neuropsychological test and clinical ratings. METHODOLOGY: This study evaluates the cognitive performance of 46 outpatients with schizophrenia, in a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Program, by three different measures: neuropsychological tests (objective assessment), cognitive factor of PANSS (clinical ratings), and subjective scale of cognition, SSTICS (patient self-report). Also studies the possible relationship between subjective assessment of cognitive symptoms and insight of the mental disorder (SUMD). RESULTS: SSTICS total score correlated only with some neuropsychological subtest, but not with cognitive factor of PANSS. The clinical ratings is more consistent with neuropsychological test than the cognitive complaints. No relationship between SUMD and SSTICS. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the lack of correspondence among several measures, it is possible to think that have been evaluated different cognitive areas. So, it is important to consider all options of assessment in order to create cognitive rehabilitation programs. Cognitive complaints seems to be an independent variable of insight.

Efficacy of a social cognition training program for schizophrenic patients: a pilot study.

Psychosocial functioning impairment is recognized as a core feature of schizophrenia. Numerous studies have assessed the process that may underlie this impairment. In the last years, one of these processes that has been studied more is social cognition, which has been proposed as a mediator variable between neurocognition and functional outcome. Social cognition includes the subdomains of emotion recognition and social perception, and in recent years several authors have developed diverse training programs in these areas. The purpose of the present article is to assess the efficacy of the Social Cognition Training Program, a program that includes emotion recognition training and social perception training. The sample was made up of 14 outpatients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia according to CIE-10 criteria, randomly divided into two groups: experimental and control. All patients were assessed before and after the training program. Cognitive and psychopathological variables, social functioning, emotion recognition and social perception performance were assessed. Results suggest improvement in social perception and interpretation in the experimental group, in comparison with the control group, but not in emotion recognition. No significant correlations were obtained between social cognition training and other variables tested.