Predicting Attention-Shaping Response in People With Schizophrenia.

ABSTRACT: People with schizophrenia often experience attentional impairments that hinder learning during psychological interventions. Attention shaping is a behavioral technique that improves attentiveness in this population. Because reinforcement learning (RL) is thought to be the mechanism by which attention shaping operates, we investigated if preshaping RL performance predicted level of response to attention shaping in people with schizophrenia. Contrary to hypotheses, a steeper attentiveness growth curve was predicted by less intact pretreatment RL ability and lower baseline attentiveness, accounting for 59% of the variance. Moreover, baseline attentiveness accounted for over 13 times more variance in response to attention shaping than did RL ability. Results suggest attention shaping is most effective for lower-functioning patients, and those high in RL ability may already be close to ceiling in terms of their response to reinforcers. Attention shaping may not be a primarily RL-driven intervention, and other mechanisms of its effects should be considered.

Optical coherence tomography indices of structural retinal pathology in schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Prior optical coherence tomography (OCT) studies of schizophrenia have identified thinning of retinal layers. However, findings have varied across reports, and most studies have had serious methodological limitations. To address unresolved issues, we determined whether: (1) retinal thinning in schizophrenia occurs independently of comorbid medical conditions that affect the retina; (2) thinning is independent of antipsychotic medication dose; (3) optic nerve parameters are abnormal in schizophrenia; and (4) OCT indices are related to visual and cognitive impairments common in schizophrenia. METHODS: A total of 32 people with schizophrenia and 32 matched controls participated. Spectral domain OCT generated data on retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), macula, and ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCL-IPL) thickness, in addition to cup volume and the cup-to-disc ratio at the optic nerve head. Subjects with schizophrenia also completed measures of symptoms, visual processing, and IQ. RESULTS: The groups did not differ on RNFL, macula, or GCL-IPL thickness. However, thinning of these layers was related to the presence of diabetes or hypertension across the sample as a whole. The schizophrenia group demonstrated enlarged cup volume and an enlarged cup-to-disc ratio in both eyes, which were unrelated to medical comorbidity, but were related to increased cognitive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Past reports of retinal thinning may be artifacts of medical comorbidity that is over-represented in schizophrenia, or other confounds. However, optic nerve head abnormalities may hold promise as biomarkers of central nervous system abnormality, including cognitive decline, in schizophrenia.

Prevalence and Risk of Violent Ideation and Behavior in Serious Mental Illnesses: An Analysis of 63,572 Patient Records.

Research has consistently demonstrated that people diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI) are at increased risk for violent ideation and behavior (VIB) and that this is especially the case for SMI patients with comorbid substance use disorders (SUD). Despite this, what is still largely unknown is the relative prevalence of VIB across diagnostic categories, whether the rates of VIB in SMI groups exceed the rates observed in people with SUD only, and which demographic factors increase the likelihood of VIB under different circumstances for people with SMI. To address these questions, we analyzed the intake records of 63,572 patients diagnosed with SMIs (i.e., schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and unipolar depression), substance use disorders, and non-SMI psychiatric disorders. Raw prevalence rates for a combined metric of VIB were established and compared for each group, and a series of logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate how various demographic factors influenced the likelihood of VIB endorsement in each study group. Our results revealed that (a) patients with SMI conditions had higher rates of VIB than both patients with non-SMI psychopathology and those with substance use disorders only; (b) patients with SMI and comorbid substance use pathology were responsible for the majority of VIB within each SMI condition; and (c) men with SMI conditions had higher prevalence rates of VIB than females. In addition, we found that for every SMI diagnosis, comorbid substance use disorders and younger age were related to greater risk for VIB, and where race and gender were found to significantly alter the likelihood of VIB endorsement, African American status and female gender were independently related to greater risk. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Sexual aggression toward women: reducing the prevalence.

Date rape or acquaintance rape is far more common than rape by strangers and can lead to serious health and adjustment problems for girls and women. Research has found women and men to be similar in many of their views about sexual assault. However, studies on attribution of blame have highlighted differences in the ways in which men and women attribute blame in sexual assault. Men attribute less blame to perpetrators of sexual assault than do women, regardless of whether the perpetrator is female or male. This suggests that men identify with the power associated with the role of perpetrator. Ways of reducing the prevalence of men's sexual aggressiveness toward women are addressed.