Self-assessment scale of auditory verbal hallucinations (SAVH): A novel tool for patients with schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: A scale for self-assessment of auditory verbal hallucinations (SAVH) was developed for patients, and this study aimed to validate the scale by investigating its psychometric properties. METHODS: Forty one patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders (DSM-5) self-assessed their hallucinations using nine SAVH questions. Each question was scored from 0 to 5, indicating the severity of the symptoms. Patients were also evaluated with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Auditory Hallucination Rating Scale (AHRS), and Birchwood Insight Scale (BIS). The psychometric properties of the SAVH were assessed by the face, internal consistency, construct, convergent and discriminant validities. RESULTS: SAVH scores were used to examine the psychometric properties. Cronbach's α and Guttman's Lambda-6 were 0.67 and 0.73 respectively. Significant correlations were observed between SAVH and AHRS total scores, as well as BPRS hallucinatory behavior subscores. No significant correlations were found between total SAVH scores and (i) levels of insight or (ii) negative BPRS subscores. Factor analysis on SAVH revealed three factors accounting for 59.3 % of the variance. Most patients found the questions clear, appropriate, and of adequate length. CONCLUSIONS: SAVH demonstrated good psychometric properties, suggesting its utility in assessing auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). This self-assessment could be valuable in evaluating AVH treatment efficacy, monitoring AVH, and empowering patients.

Esketamine-induced post-traumatic stress disorder flashbacks during treatment-resistant depression indication: is it just a side effect?

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe and frequent affection that is highly comorbid to major depressive disorder. Comorbid PTSD and depression are usually treatment-resistant, with a high risk of functional impairment and suicide. Esketamine nasal spray is a recent validated treatment for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but its efficacy on comorbid TRD-PTSD remains insufficiently documented. In particular, flashbacks can occur during esketamine administration and their influence on clinical outcomes is unknown. Objectives: Our main objective was to describe esketamine-induced traumatic flashbacks and their impact on clinical trajectories within a sample of patients with comorbid TRD-PTSD. Methods: We retrospectively collected clinical data of patients receiving esketamine nasal spray for TRD with comorbid PTSD who experienced at least one flashback of their trauma during esketamine sessions across 11 psychiatric departments. Results: Between February 2020 and March 2023, 22 adult patients with TRD met inclusion criteria. In sixteen patients (72.7%) flashbacks disappeared as the sessions progressed. In six patients (27.3%), esketamine treatment was stopped because of persistent flashbacks. When esketamine was continued, clinical response was observed both for depression and PTSD (depression response rate: 45.5% and remission rate: 22.7%; PTSD response rate: 45.5% and remission: 18.2%). Limitations: The retrospective design of the study and the absence of a comparator group are the main limitations of our study. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the occurrence of esketamine-induced traumatic flashbacks does not hinder clinical response. On the contrary, when managed appropriately and combined with targeted psychotherapy, it could even contribute to positive outcomes.

Effects of the combination of neurostimulation techniques in patients with mental disorders: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: despite years of development, response to neurostimulation remains partial and variable. Combining techniques could improve clinical efficacy and tolerance. OBJECTIVE: to examine the literature on the effects of combining several neurostimulation techniques in patients with mental disorders. METHODS: this systematic review follows the PRISMA guidelines RESULTS: 23 studies were included. The most studied combination was electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) along with another neurostimulation technique in depression. The RCTs that showed a significant effect targeted the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex with high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, before ECT. Combining neurostimulation techniques is a promising field of research.

A digital tool for self-assessment of auditory verbal hallucinations in schizophrenia.

Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are experienced by approximately 70 % of patients with schizophrenia and are frequently associated with high levels of distress. Therefore, alleviating hallucinations is an important therapeutic challenge. However, for prescribing a personalized treatment adapted to the patient, an accurate and detailed assessment of AVH is necessary. Until now, there have been no self-evaluations; instead, only scales based on observer ratings have been used to assess AVH. Nevertheless, self-assessments may enhance patient symptom awareness and increase their insight and involvement in the treatment, promoting empowerment (Eisen et al., 2000). In this context, a mobile app called MIMO was devised in order to monitor AVHs assessed by the patients themselves. This app, including the Self-assessment of Auditory verbal Hallucinations (SAVH-https://sns-dollfus.com/), was devised as an ecological momentary assessment tool. The present study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of this app.

Anti-leucine-rich glioma-inactivated 1 encephalitis revealed by a manic episode: insights from frontal lobe dysfunction in neuropsychiatry through neuropsychology and metabolic imaging. A case report.

Background: Anti-leucine-rich glioma-inactivated 1 (LGI1) encephalitis is a limbic encephalitis that rarely presents as an isolated psychiatric syndrome. Case presentation: A 70-year-old patient first presented with behavioral disorder including hyperactivity, euphoria, with disinhibition and accelerated speech associated with severe insomnia and cognitive disorder. A manic episode was diagnosed and he received various psychotropic medications with no improvement. Invesitgations were negative (MRI showed T2 aspecific hyperintensities with no hyperintensities in limbic regions and EEG was normal). He was transferred to a nursing home, with a diagnosis of neurodegenerative condition. Later, he was referred to our unit for further investigations. A cerebral 18F-FDG-PET revealed an association of frontal hypometabolism and temporal and striatum hypermetabolism and CSF analysis revealed slightly increased white blood cell counts. Plasmatic anti-LGI1 antibodies were detected. The patient was treated with intra-venous immunoglobulin (IvIg) but showed no improvement. Second-line treatment (a combination of rituximab and cyclophosmphamide) was then administered for a year, leading to an improvement of neuropsychiatric symptoms and normalization of metabolic impairment on 18F-FDG-PET. Conclusion: In this report, we describe a novel case of a patient withanti-LGI1 encephalitis with a predominant long-term psychiatric presentation. An atypical presentation (such as atypical psychiatric symptoms, neurocognitive disorder, and hyponatremia) should prompt further investigations such as CSF analysis, considering that MRI and EEG may be normal. FDG-PET might be of interest but few data are available in the literature. Early treatment of anti-LGI1 encephalitis is crucial for overall prognosis and may delay the development of dementia in some cases.

Real world transcranial magnetic stimulation for major depression: A multisite, naturalistic, retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: In 2008, the U.S. FDA approved rTMS as a treatment against medication-resistant depression. However, real-world rTMS outcomes remain understudied. This study investigates how rTMS for depression is delivered in routine clinical practice in France, and measures its effectiveness as well as its moderators. METHODS: Five centers provided retrospective data on patients who were treated with rTMS for treatment-resistant depression from January 2015 to December 2020. Patients were assessed twice using a hetero-questionnaire, with baseline and immediate post-treatment assessments. We conducted univariate analyses to study which factors were significantly associated with rTMS effectiveness. We then included age, gender, and significant factors in a multivariate model. RESULTS: We collected data from 435 patients with a mean age of 51.27 (14.91): 66 % were female, and 26 % suffered from bipolar depression. Stimulation was delivered using four different stimulation parameters: 1 Hz (7 % of the individuals), 10 Hz (43 %), 20 Hz (12 %), and 50 Hz (intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation, iTBS) (38 %). The mean improvement of depressive symptoms was 33 % (p < 0.001, effect-size: 0.79). Response and remission rates were of 31 % and 22.8 %, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, improvement in depressive symptoms was associated with higher baseline symptoms. CONCLUSION: This is one of the largest studies that investigates, with careful clinician-rated scales by trained psychiatrists, the effect of rTMS in naturalistic settings. Repetitive TMS appears to be effective in routine clinical practice, although its efficacy could be improved by analyzing predictors of response, as well as personalized targeting of specific brain areas.

The priming effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on clinical response to electroconvulsive therapy in treatment-resistant depression: a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the most effective treatments for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). However, due to response delay and cognitive impairment, ECT remains an imperfect treatment. Compared to ECT, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is less effective at treating severe depression, but has the advantage of being quick, easy to use, and producing almost no side effects. In this study, our objective was to assess the priming effect of rTMS sessions before ECT on clinical response in patients with TRD. METHODS: In this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial, 56 patients with TRD were assigned to active or sham rTMS before ECT treatment. Five sessions of active/sham neuronavigated rTMS were administered over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (20 Hz, 90% resting motor threshold, 20 2 s trains with 60-s intervals, 800 pulses/session) before ECT (which was active for all patients) started. Any relative improvements were then compared between both groups after five ECT sessions, in order to assess the early response to treatment. RESULTS: After ECT, the active rTMS group exhibited a significantly greater relative improvement than the sham group [43.4% (28.6%) v. 25.4% (17.2%)]. The responder rate in the active group was at least three times higher. Cognitive complaints, which were assessed using the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, were higher in the sham rTMS group compared to the active rTMS group, but this difference was not corroborated by cognitive tests. CONCLUSIONS: rTMS could be used to enhance the efficacy of ECT in patients with TRD. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02830399.

Efficacy and Safety of Transcranial Electric Stimulation during the Perinatal Period: A Systematic Literature Review and Three Case Reports.

Introduction: The perinatal period is an at-risk period for the emergence or decompensation of psychiatric disorders. Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) is an effective and safe treatment for many psychiatric disorders. Given the reluctance to use pharmacological treatments during pregnancy or breastfeeding, tES may be an interesting treatment to consider. Our study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tES in the perinatal period through a systematic literature review followed by three original case reports. Method: Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review of MEDLINE and ScienceDirect was undertaken to identify studies on tES on women during the perinatal period. The initial research was conducted until 31 December 2021 and search terms included: tDCS, transcranial direct current stimulation, tACS, transcranial alternating current stimulation, tRNS, transcranial random noise stimulation, pregnancy, perinatal, postnatal, and postpartum. Results: Seven studies reporting on 33 women during the perinatal period met the eligibility criteria. No serious adverse effects for the mother or child were reported. Data were limited to the use of tES during pregnancy in patients with schizophrenia or unipolar depression. In addition, we reported three original case reports illustrating the efficacy and safety of tDCS: in a pregnant woman with bipolar depression, in a pregnant woman with post-traumatic stress disorder (sham tDCS), and in a breastfeeding woman with postpartum depression. Conclusions: The results are encouraging, making tES a potentially safe and effective treatment in the perinatal period. Larger studies are needed to confirm these initial results, and any adverse effects on the mother or child should be reported. In addition, research perspectives on the medico-economic benefits of tES, and its realization at home, are to be investigated in the future.

Efficacy and Safety of Intranasal Esketamine in Patients With Treatment-Resistant Depression and Comorbid Chronic Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Open-Label Single-Arm Pilot Study.

Introduction: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is more likely to resist to usual treatment when it is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Capitalizing on the effect of ketamine in both treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and PTSD, we conducted a study in order to assess the efficacy of intranasal (IN) Esketamine in patients having TRD with comorbid PTSD. Materials and Methods: In this open-label, single arm, retrospective pilot study, 11 patients were treated with IN Esketamine (56 or 84 mg) with a longitudinal follow-up of 6 months. IN Esketamine was administered twice weekly during the first month, once weekly during the second month, and then once every 1 or 2 weeks. Patients were assessed with Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), Patient Health Questionnaire 9 items, Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), and Clinical Global Impression-Suicide Scale (CGI-SS). Results: We included 9 women and 2 men (mean age 47.3 ± 11.1 years). The mean (SD) MADRS scores decreased significantly from 38.6 (6.4) at baseline to 18.2 (10.03) after 6 months of IN Esketamine; 7 patients were responders and 3 patients were in remission. The percentage of patients who were moderately to severely suicidal declined from 63.6% at baseline to 27.3% after 1 month of IN Esketamine sessions. No serious adverse reactions were observed. Conclusion: This study reports the outcomes of 11 severely ill patients with comorbid TRD and PTSD after IN Esketamine treatment. Esketamine significantly improved depression symptoms, suggesting that it is likely to be a treatment of choice in this specific population.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Profile of Tau, Phosphorylated Tau, Aß42, and Aß40 in Probable Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy.

BACKGROUND: There is no consensus regarding the diagnostic value of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers in cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). OBJECTIVE: To describe the CSF levels of Aß42, Aß40, total protein Tau, and phosphorylated-Tau (p-Tau) in a large series of probable CAA patients and to compare with AD patients in order to identify a specific pattern in CAA but also to look for correlations with the neuroimaging profile. METHODS: We retrospectively included from 2 French centers probable CAA patients according to modified Boston criteria who underwent lumbar puncture (LP) with CSF AD biomarker quantifications. Two neurologists independently analyzed all MRI sequences. A logistic regression and Spearman's correlation coefficient were used to identify correlation between MRI and CSF biomarkers in CAA. RESULTS: We included 63 probable CAA and 27 AD patients. Among CAA 50.8% presented with decreased Aß42 level associated with elevated p-Tau and/or Tau, 34.9% with isolated decreased Aß42 level and 14.3% patients with normal Aß42 level. Compared to AD, CAA showed lower levels of Tau (p = 0.008), p-Tau (p = 0.004), and Aß40 (p = 0.001) but similar Aß42 level (p = 0.07). No correlation between Aß42 or Aß40 levels and neuroimaging was found. CONCLUSION: CSF biomarkers may improve the accuracy of the modified Boston criteria with altered profile in 85% of the patients fulfilling revised Boston criteria for probable CAA. Aß40 appears as an interesting selective biomarker in differential diagnosis.

A Retrospective Study of Postictal Suppression during Electroconvulsive Therapy.

BACKGROUND: electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment in treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but its response remains partial. Identifying useful indicators to guide decision making for treatment and improve clinical response remains a major issue. The objective of the present retrospective study was to determine if clinical response-early (after 5 ECT sessions) or longer-term (after 12 ECT sessions)-was associated with postictal suppression during the first ECT course and/or with postictal suppression frequency during the whole ECT course. METHODS: in a retrospective study, the data of 42 patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression and receiving at least 5 ECT sessions were collected. Two sessions per week of bitemporal brief-pulse ECT sessions were administered to patients. Each of the electroencephalography (EEG) recordings were assessed to determine the presence of postictal suppression. RESULTS: the postictal suppression from the first ECT session predicted a better long-term clinical response (after 12 ECT sessions), but not early clinical response (after only 5 ECT sessions). The postictal suppression frequency was associated with neither the short- nor the long-term clinical response. In addition, postictal suppression and short-term cognitive performances were not associated. CONCLUSIONS: this EEG indicator is clinically useful if it appears in the first ECT sessions, but it is no longer relevant in the following sessions.

Esketamine nasal spray in patients with treatment-resistant depression: the real-world experience in the French cohort early-access programme.

OBJECTIVE: To present the first real-world data of patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) treated with esketamine through a French cohort Temporary Authorisation for Use (ATUc) programme. METHODS: In 2019, the French Health Authorities exceptionally granted the first ATUc in psychiatry for TRD patients. Clinical characteristics, safety and efficacy data were reported by physicians. The ATUc ended ∼6 months after initiation. RESULTS: The cohort (n = 66; median age 53.0 years; 62.1% female; 78.8% with severe major depressive episodes; resistance to a mean of 4.2 previous antidepressants) received esketamine treatment for a median of 30 days. Among 46 analysed patients, 22 (47.8%) achieved response (Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale [MADRS] total score reduction ≥50.0%) and 17 (37.0%) achieved remission (MADRS total score of ≤12) at least once at a median of 18.5 (2.0-77.0) and 21.0 (2.0-46.0) days after initiation, respectively. By Week 4, patients had a 31.6% probability of achieving remission (Kaplan-Meier method). Sedation, somnolence, dizziness, hypertension, anxiety and dissociation were the most frequently reported (>10.0%) adverse events. No new safety signals were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Patient characteristics of this cohort demonstrate high-level treatment resistance. The safety and efficacy of esketamine in patients with TRD in real-world clinical practice were consistent with Phase 3 trials.Key pointsPatients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) exceptionally received esketamine nasal spray ahead of its launch through a French cohort Temporary Authorisation for Use (ATUc) programme.The clinical characteristics of 66 adult patients with TRD included in this cohort demonstrated a high-level of resistance to conventional treatments at the time of treatment request prior to esketamine initiation.No new safety signals were observed with esketamine initiation during the ATUc period compared with the Phase 3 clinical trials.The safety and efficacy of esketamine in the real world remain consistent with that established in Phase 3 clinical trials.The data collected during this ATUc also provide the first real-world data on the management and practical use of esketamine in a hospital setting in France.

[Electroconvulsive therapy during the perinatal period: Representations of mental health professionals]. / L'électroconvulsivothérapie en période périnatale : représentations des professionnels de santé mentale.

INTRODUCTION: Psychiatric disorders are common in peripartum and are associated with adverse outcomes for mother and fetus. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the most effective and safe options to treat severe mental illness, including during the perinatal period. Nevertheless, it remains underutilized during this period, possibly due to negative representations. Research has been carried out on the representations and attitudes of caregivers towards ECT, but the specificities of these attitudes during peripartum have not been explored. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess the attitudes towards ECT during the peripartum among psychiatrists, nurses, social workers and psychologists. The primary objective was to compare the score of favorability for ECT during peripartum according to the profession. The secondary objective was to highlight other factors involved in the favorability for ECT in peripartum. METHODS: We investigated mental health professionals' attitudes sending by e-mail an anonymous questionnaire in five hospitals in France. The questionnaire was composed of demographic details, one scale about the attitudes towards ECT (the Questionnaire on Attitudes and Knowledge of ECT (QuAKE)) used in several studies; in this questionnaire, a specific part for perinatal period has been added for our study, both using a Likert scale. The completion time for this online questionnaire was approximately 5 to 7minutes. A score of favorability for ECT in general and in peripartum was established for each participant. These scores represented the percentage of positive responses to favorable items and of negative responses to unfavorable items towards ECT. Comparison of the QuAKE answers with a sample of English caregivers in 2001 has been determined with χ2 tests. A Bonferroni correction was applied due to the large number of tests performed. Factors involved in the favorability for ECT have been studied with Pearson correlation, Kruskall-Wallis and Wilcoxon tests. RESULTS: Two hundred and twenty one professionals (80 psychiatrists, 78 nurses, 19 social workers and 44 psychologists) were included in the study. Their answers to the QuAKE questionnaire were comparable or more favorable to ECT than the English sample answered in 2001. The perinatal part of questionnaire had a good internal consistency (Cronbach coefficient: 0,91). Participants were less favorable to ECT in perinatal period (favorability score: 44.2) than in general (63.6). They more often responded « uncertain ¼ to the perinatal questionnaire (44,9 % against 18.4 % for the ECT in general; W=19931,5; P<0,001). The favorability for ECT in general and during peripartum were statistically associated with profession (psychiatrists were more favorable), specific training and experience in ECT. Gender, perinatal specialization, age, and the number of years in professional service were not associated with favorability for ECT in general and during peripartum in this study. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we have found that profession, training and experience in ECT are linked to the attitudes towards ECT, including in the perinatal period. It is necessary to inform professionals about the possibility of prescribing ECT in the perinatal period by training them in the specificities of pregnancy.

A prospective multicenter assessor-blinded randomized controlled study to compare the efficacy of short versus long protocols of electroconvulsive therapy as an augmentation strategy to clozapine in patients with ultra-resistant schizophrenia (SURECT study).

BACKGROUND: Although clozapine is the most effective antipsychotic drug for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, it leads to a poor or partial response in 40 to 70% of patients. Augmentation of clozapine with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly effective and relatively safe treatment for these clozapine-resistant patients. However, parameters are not yet well specified, such as the optimal number of sessions, their frequency, and the relevance of maintenance ECT. Our objective is to compare the efficacy and tolerance between two protocols of combined ECT and clozapine treatment in patients with ultra-resistant schizophrenia (URS): a 6-month protocol (short protocol with 20 ECT sessions) and a 12-month protocol (long protocol with 40 ECT sessions). METHODS: Sixty-four patients with schizophrenia with persistent psychotic symptoms despite clozapine treatment will be enrolled in a prospective multicentric assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial. Patients will be randomly assigned to the short or the long protocol. The main outcome is the response rate assessed by the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS) 3 months after the end of the treatment in patients following the long protocol compared to those following the short protocol. The response was defined as a 30% reduction on the PANSS baseline. Clinical assessments (PANSS, BPRS, HAMD-21, YMRS, CGI, GAF, Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS), and Subjective Scale to Investigate Cognition in Schizophrenia (SSTICS)) and plasma clozapine concentration will be performed at baseline and at 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, and 15 months. Neuropsychological measures (MMSE, RL/RI-16, Doors test, D2 Test of Attention, Copy of the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure) will be performed at baseline and at 6 and 15 months. DISCUSSION: The aims of this research are to optimize protocols of combined ECT with clozapine in patients with URS and to offer specific recommendations for these patients' care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03542903 . Registered on May 31, 2018. Id RCB: 2017-A02657-46.

Rare genetic susceptibility variants assessment in autism spectrum disorder: detection rate and practical use.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a strong genetic component whose knowledge evolves quickly. Next-generation sequencing is the only effective technology to deal with the high genetic heterogeneity of ASD in a clinical setting. However, rigorous criteria to classify rare genetic variants conferring ASD susceptibility are currently lacking. We have performed whole-exome sequencing to identify both nucleotide variants and copy number variants (CNVs) in 253 ASD patients, including 68 patients with intellectual disability (ID) and 90 diagnosed as Asperger syndrome. Using explicit criteria to classify both susceptibility genes and susceptibility variants we prioritized 217 genes belonging to the following categories: syndromic genes, genes with an excess of de novo protein truncating variants and genes targeted by rare CNVs. We obtained a susceptibility variant detection rate of 19.7% (95% CI: [15-25.2%]). The rate for CNVs was 7.1% (95% CI: [4.3-11%]) and 12.6% (95% CI: [8.8-17.4%]) for nucleotide variants. The highest rate (30.1%, 95% CI: [20.2-43.2%]) was obtained in the ASD + ID subgroup. A strong contributor for at risk nucleotide variants was the recently identified set of genes (n = 81) harboring an excess of de novo protein truncating variants. Since there is currently no evidence that the genes targeted here are necessary and sufficient to cause ASD, we recommend to avoid the term "causative of ASD" when delivering the information about a variant to a family and to use instead the term "genetic susceptibility factor contributing to ASD".

Specificity and sensitivity of the Self-assessment of Negative Symptoms (SNS) in patients with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVES: Negative symptoms can be present at any stage of schizophrenia but their evaluation remains challenging. Self-evaluations may be particularly useful in screening negative symptoms quickly and effectively. The purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity, the specificity, and the threshold beyond which the negative symptoms are considered pathological in a comparative study between patients with schizophrenia and healthy subjects using the Self-assessment of Negative Symptoms (SNS). METHODS: One hundred and nine patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders (DSM-5) and 99 healthy controls were included and evaluated with the SNS. AUROC analyses were performed to assess the discriminant performance of the SNS scale for screening negative symptoms in the whole sample of patients but also in 2 patient sub-samples without high scores of depression or negative symptoms. RESULTS: The SNS (AUROC = 0.942 ±â€¯0.046; p < 0.001) appears to be an appropriate screening tool for distinguishing between SZ and HC with a threshold value of 7, and the sensitivity and specificity were 92.7% (95CI = [86.1-96.8]) and 85.9% (95CI = [77.4-92.1]) respectively. A threshold at 7 was also observed in the samples without patients with high level of depressive or negative symptoms. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that SNS might be a valuable tool for screening negative symptoms in clinical practice regardless the level of depressive and negative symptoms. Further studies using SNS in subjects at high risk for psychosis or with a first psychotic episode would be useful in the detection of negative symptoms.

A Prospective Open-Label Pilot Study of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in High-Functioning Autistic Patients with a Dysexecutive Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Executive functions (EF) are often impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Such dysfunctions are associated with anxiety, depression, and a lack of autonomy. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to enhance EF in healthy adults and clinical populations and to improve working memory - a component of the EF - in adults with high-functioning ASD (HF-ASD). We hypothesized that tDCS could improve the EF of HF-ASD patients. Such enhancement could improve their adaptive behaviors. METHOD: Eight patients with HF-ASD received 10 consecutive cathodal tDCS sessions (2 mA) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (F3) for 15 min each in an open trial. EF (with the Stroop test, Trail Making Test [TMT] A and B, Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test [mWCST], and Verbal Fluency Test) and behavioral dysexecutive syndrome (with the Behavioral Dysexecutive Syndrome Inventory and the Repetitive and Restricted Behaviour scale) were assessed before and 10 days after treatment. RESULTS: This study showed significant improvement in initiation (TMT-A time: p = 0.018) and cognitive flexibility (TMT-B time: p = 0.009; letter Verbal Fluency Test: p = 0.017; mWCST total errors: p = 0.028) after tDCS. Regarding behavior, the hypoactivity of the patients improved, as well as their repetitive and restrictive behaviors. In addition, this noninvasive neurostimulation technique was well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: Flexibility and initiation are the most impaired EF in autism. These are promising results which justify a randomized and placebo-controlled study in a wider population. If these results were confirmed by a randomized controlled trial, tDCS could be an easy and well-tolerated adjunctive treatment aiming to improve the quality of life and the autonomy of ASD patients.