Contribution of the Roman rat lines/strains to personality neuroscience: neurobehavioral modeling of internalizing/externalizing psychopathologies.

The Roman high-avoidance (RHA) and low-avoidance (RLA) rat lines/strains were established in Rome through bidirectional selection of Wistar rats for rapid (RHA) or extremely poor (RLA) acquisition of a two-way active avoidance task. Relative to RHAs, RLA rats exhibit enhanced threat sensitivity, anxiety, fear and vulnerability to stress, a passive coping style and increased sensitivity to frustration. Thus, RLA rats' phenotypic profile falls well within the "internalizing" behavior spectrum. Compared with RLAs and other rat strains/stocks, RHAs present increased impulsivity and reward sensitivity, deficits in social behavior and attentional/cognitive processes, novelty-induced hyper-locomotion and vulnerability to psychostimulant sensitization and drug addiction. Thus, RHA rats' phenotypes are consistent with a "disinhibiting externalizing" profile. Many neurobiological/molecular traits differentiate both rat lines/strains. For example, relative to RLA rats, RHAs exhibit decreased function of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus and amygdala, increased functional tone of the mesolimbic dopamine system, a deficit of central metabotropic glutamate-2 (mGlu2) receptors, increased density of serotonin 5-HT2A receptors in the PFC, impairment of GABAergic transmission in the PFC, alterations of several synaptic markers and increased density of pyramidal immature dendrític spines in the PFC. These characteristics suggest an immature brain of RHA rats and are reminiscent of schizophrenia features like hypofrontality and disruption of the excitation/inhibition cortical balance. We review evidence supporting RLA rats as a valid model of anxiety/fear, stress and frustration vulnerability, whereas RHA rats represent a promising translational model of neurodevelopmental alterations related to impulsivity, schizophrenia-relevant features and comorbidity with drug addiction vulnerability.

Contexto familiar y desarrollo infanto-juvenil: el papel de la interacción filio-parental en la salud mental / Context familiar i desenvolupament infantil i juvenil: el paper de la interacció filioparental en la salut mental / Family context and child and adolescent development: the role of child-parent interaction in mental health

El presenteestudio explora la relación entre prácticas educativas parentales y/o estilos educativos parentales sobre conductasinternalizantes y externalizantes. Se evaluaron las prácticas educativas parentales en una muestra constituida por 43niños y adolescentes de 7-14 años, los estilos educativos parentales y la psicopatología mediante el APQ y el CBCL, res-pectivamente. Los resultados sugieren que menor implicación parental, elevada inconsistencia en la disciplina y uso decastigo corporal se relacionan con conductas externalizantes. Asimismo, los estilos educativos autoritarios, permisivosy/o negligentes se relacionan con conductas internalizantes y externalizantes. En conclusión, se manifiesta la relevan-cia de promocionar prácticas educativas parentales adaptativas, contribuyendo en la implementación de programasespecíficos basados en la evidencia para progenitores.(AU)

Thepresent study explores the relationship between parental educational practices and/or parental educational styles oninternalizing and externalising behaviours. Parental educational practices, parental educational styles, and psycho-pathology were assessed in a sample consisted of 43 children and adolescents aged between 7-14 years using theAPQ and the CBCL, respectively. The results suggest that less parental involvement, high inconsistency in discipline,and use of corporal punishment are related to externalising behaviours. Likewise, authoritarian, permissive, and/ornegligent educational styles are related to internalising and externalising behaviours. In conclusion, the relevance ofpromoting adaptive parental educational practices, contributing to the implementation of specific evidence-basedprogrammes for parents, is evident.(AU)

Aquest estudi explora la relació entre pràctiques educatives parentals i/o estils educatius parentals sobre conduc-tes internalitzants i externalitzants. Es van avaluar les pràctiques educatives parentals, els estils educatius parentalsi la psicopatologia en una mostra constituïda per 43 nens i adolescents de 7 a 14 anys mitjançant l’APQ i el CBCL,respectivament. Els resultats suggereixen que menor implicació parental, elevada inconsistència a la disciplina i úsde càstig corporal es relacionen amb conductes externalitzants. Així mateix, els estils educatius autoritaris, permis-sius i/o negligents es relacionen amb conductes internalitzants i externalitzants. En conclusió, es manifesta la relle-vància de promocionar pràctiques educatives parentals adaptatives, contribuint a la implementació de programesespecífics basats en l’evidència per a progenitors.(AU)

Neurobehavioral and neurodevelopmental profiles of a heuristic genetic model of differential schizophrenia- and addiction-relevant features: The RHA vs. RLA rats.

The Roman High- (RHA) and Low-(RLA) avoidance rat lines/strains were generated through bidirectional selective breeding for rapid (RHA) vs. extremely poor (RLA) two-way active avoidance acquisition. Compared with RLAs and other rat strains/stocks, RHAs are characterized by increased impulsivity, deficits in social behavior, novelty-induced hyper-locomotion, impaired attentional/cognitive abilities, vulnerability to psychostimulant sensitization and drug addiction. RHA rats also exhibit decreased function of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus, increased functional activity of the mesolimbic dopamine system and a dramatic deficit of central metabotropic glutamate-2 (mGlu2) receptors (due to a stop codon mutation at cysteine 407 in Grm2 -cys407*-), along with increased density of 5-HT2A receptors in the PFC, alterations of several synaptic markers and increased density of pyramidal "thin" (immature) dendrític spines in the PFC. These characteristics suggest an immature brain of RHA rats, and are reminiscent of schizophrenia features like hypofrontality and disruption of the excitation/inhibition cortical balance. RHA rats represent a promising heuristic model of neurodevelopmental schizophrenia-relevant features and comorbidity with drug addiction vulnerability.

Metacognition of daily self-regulation processes and personality traits in borderline personality disorder.

BACKGROUND: Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) are characterized by impoverished self-regulatory mechanisms and self-image distortions. An intriguing question is to what extent BPD individuals develop accurate perceptions of their self-regulatory everyday functioning. Here, we tackle this issue evaluating their metacognitive abilities. METHODS: One hundred and forty-four participants were enrolled in the study and divided into a BPD group and a healthy Control group, with each consisting of 36 participants paired with their corresponding close relatives. We compared self-report evaluations of the participants' self-regulatory processes in daily-life activities and personality traits with external perceptions by close relatives, as a measure of metacognition. The ratings from participants and their informants were compared using an ANCOVA profile analysis. RESULTS: Self-report results showed poor self-regulation ability in the daily environment as well as extreme scores in personality-traits in the BPD group in comparison with healthy participants. Further, in the BPD group we found a clear discrepancy between the information provided by patients and their close relatives regarding the processes involved in self-regulation of daily-life activities (but not for personality traits). This discrepancy was related to their clinical status and was not observed in the healthy control group. LIMITATIONS: Analysis was based on self-report data, focusing on the difference with informants reports only. Conclusions about the direction of a possible bias on participants' self-perception are limited. CONCLUSIONS: Metacognitive deficits might play a key mediating role between the altered cognitive processes responsible for self-regulation and cognitive control and the daily-life consequences in BPD.

The General Criteria for Personality Disorders Assessed by Interview: Do They Still Have a Role to Play?

On the path to developing dimensional models of personality disorder (PD), we are at risk of leaving key diagnostic aspects behind. The general criteria for PD may be important ones because they reflect the defining aspects of personality pathology: long duration, independence from psychopathological states, and harmfulness. We assessed these criteria by interview in a sample of 362 psychiatric outpatients after administering the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4+. The result was a 42.5% fall in self-reported endorsements, due to misinterpretations (11.5%), short duration of traits or contamination by state psychopathology (9.8%), and traits being non-harmful (21.2%). However, not all personality traits and disorders underwent correction to the same extent, and ultimately, the interview did not improve the prediction of clinical variables. These findings raise doubts about the practical relevance of the general criteria for PD and support the role of self-report questionnaires for diagnostic purposes.

Volumetric brain differences between the Roman rat strains: Neonatal handling effects, sensorimotor gating and working memory.

The present study was aimed at evaluating whether the differences between the Roman high- (RHA) and low-avoidance (RLA) rat strains in novelty-induced behavioural inhibition/disinhibition, sensorimotor gating (i.e., prepulse inhibition, PPI) and spatial learning/memory parallel differences in the volume of brain areas related to those behavioural phenotypes. To this aim, we conducted two experiments. In Experiment 1, we evaluated the performance of adult rats from both strains, either untreated (controls) or treated with neonatal handling (NH; administered during the first 21 days of life), in a novel object exploration test (NOE), in the elevated zero-maze test (ZM) of anxiety, and in a PPI test; moreover, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure the volume of limbic and cortical brain regions (amygdala -Am-, hippocampus -Hc-, striatum -St-, medial prefrontal cortex -mPFc-, anterior cingulate cortex -ACC-, nucleus accumbens -NAc-) and lateral ventricles -LV-. In Experiment 2, adult rats neonatally exposed to NH and their naïve controls were submitted to the NOE and PPI tests, and to several spatial learning/memory tasks using the Morris water maze. It was found that, compared with their RLA counterparts, RHA rats show increased exploration of the novel object in the NOE test, lowered anxiety in the ZM and impaired PPI, whereas RLAs display better spatial reference learning and memory and better cognitive flexibility in a reversal task. Furthermore, MRI measurements revealed that the volume of Hc, Am and mPFc is larger in RLA vs. RHA rats, whereas the latter have dramatically enlarged lateral ventricles. NH treatment markedly enhanced exploration in the NOE test in RLA rats, improved PPI in RHA rats but impaired it in their RLA counterparts, and produced beneficial effects on spatial working memory mainly in RHA rats. Finally, exposure to NH decreased the volume of Hc and Am in the RLA strain. The results are discussed in terms of the possible relationships between strain-related volumetric brain differences and the behavioral (anxiety-related and schizophrenia-relevant) traits that distinguish RHA from RLA rats, and highlighting the finding that, in RLA rats, NH is for the first time shown to enduringly reduce the volume of Hc and Am in parallel to the decrease of anxiety and the impairment of sensorimotor gating.

Validation of a Spanish version of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ): Psychometric characteristics and underlying factor structure derived from a healthy university student sample.

OBJECTIVE: The need for early detection, prevention and intervention in psychosis has prompted the study of prodromal and threshold syndromes. One strategy involves the assessment of schizotypy, a personality construct involving unusual perceptual experiences, magical thinking or bizarre behavior. Sensitive measurement instruments could potentially allow detection of signs heralding transition to psychosis in high-risk individuals, or risk of relapse in patients after a first psychotic episode. The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) is a self-report scale, originally developed for English speakers, that covers the nine DSM-IV criteria for schizotypal personality disorder (SPD). Our aim was to validate a Spanish version of the SPQ and assess its psychometric properties. METHODS: The original SPQ was back-translated and administered to university students (n=250). We assessed the internal consistency, the convergent, discriminant and criterion validity of the instrument, and analyzed its factor structure. RESULTS: Our version of the SPQ showed good internal consistency, and convergent (O-LIFE), discriminant (P-scale of EPQ) and criterion validity (SCID-II). Factor analyses supported a four-factor structure in fitting SPQ data. CONCLUSIONS: Our Spanish version of the SPQ questionnaire preserved the psychometric properties of the original questionnaire. This adaptation will provide a useful tool for the early detection of prodromal schizophrenia symptoms and clinical relapse in Spanish-speaking populations.

El dolor en ancianos y en pacientes con déficits cognitivos. Un estudio DELPHI / Pain in the elderly and in patients with cognitive deficit. A DELPHI study

Objetivos: Muchos ancianos que viven en centros sociosanitarios sufren de dolor crónico y casi la mitad de ellos pueden presentar alteraciones cognitivas. Esta situación reduce considerablemente su posibilidad de comunicar el dolor que padecen y puede impedir que sea detectado por los profesionales sanitarios que les atienden. El objetivo del presente estudio Delphi fue conocer la opinión de los profesionales implicados en el cuidado de los pacientes ancianos con alteraciones cognitivas graves sobre la presencia de dolor y la valoración de su existencia. Material y métodos: Se invitó a participar a médicos, psicólogos, fisioterapeutas, enfermeras y auxiliares de clínica pertenecientes a 25 centros socio-sanitarios de Cataluña. En la primera fase, participaron 22 centros (88 %) y 107 expertos. Se elaboró un cuestionario con 19 enunciados (16 valorados según la escala tipo Likert y tres preguntas abiertas). En la segunda, se preparó un cuestionario con la distribución percentual de respuestas en cada enunciado. Colaboraron 19 centros (76 %) y 90 profesionales (84 %). Resultados: Se obtuvo consenso (≥ 90 % de coincidencia) en los siguientes enunciados: a) el dolor en los ancianos es un síntoma exclusivamente físico (en desacuerdo); b) el dolor crónico del anciano es intratable (en desacuerdo); c) la falta de capacidad verbal para manifestar el dolor en los ancianos con alteraciones cognitivas puede conducir a un tratamiento insuficiente (en acuerdo); d) se puede evaluar el dolor de la misma manera en aquellas personas que pueden expresarlo de forma verbal que en aquellas que no pueden hacerlo (en desacuerdo); e) no existen instrumentos suficientes para valorar la presencia de dolor en pacientes con deficiencias cognitivas y dificultades de comunicación (en acuerdo); f) los ancianos sienten más el dolor pues es la única forma de sentirse vivos (en desacuerdo). El índice de variación de estabilidad de respuesta en las dos rondas fue inferior al 0,04 y el análisis de correlación de Spearman no encontró comportamientos diferentes en la respuesta de ninguna de las subpoblaciones de profesionales. Conclusiones: Los resultados muestran que los profesionales sanitarios creen que faltan instrumentos adecuados para valorar el dolor en sus pacientes y que este hecho puede conllevar consecuencias deletéreas tanto para ellos como para los profesionales que los atienden. Se propone la observación de los cambios conductuales como la mejor forma de valorar el dolor y su empleo en instrumentos de evaluación para aquellos pacientes con dificultades de comunicación oral

Objetives: Many elderly people that live in nursing homes suffer from chronic pain and almost half of them may be affected by cognitive impairment. This situation reduces the possibility of communicating the pain that they suffer and may hinder its detection by health professionals who care them. The aim of the current study was to know the opinions and beliefs of healthcare workers who look after them on the presence of pain as well as the methods to assess it. Material and methods: Physicians, psychologists, physiotherapists, nurses and nurses assistants from 25 nursing homes of Catalonia were invited to participate. In the first phase 22 centers and 107 people participated. A questionnaire with 19 statements (16 assessed by Likert-like scale and 3 open questions) was used. In the second phase, a new questionnaire was prepared with the distribution of the answers of the first phase. In this phase, 19 centers (76 %) and 90 people (84 %) agreed to collaborate again. Results: A consensus (≥ 90 % of agreement) was reached in the following statements: a) Pain in the elderly is an exclusively physical symptom (disagree); b) Chronic pain of elderly cannot be treated (disagree); c) The lack of verbal communication to report pain in the elderly with cognitive impairment may convey to an inadequate treatment (agree); d) Pain may be equally evaluated in people with oral communication that in those who cannot do it (disagree); e) There are not enough tools for assessing pain in patients with cognitive impairment and limited communication (agree); f) Elderly people feel pain more frequently than younger people because it is the only way to feel alive (disagree). The variation index in the two phases was less than 0.04 and the Spearman analysis did not find any different answers in the different profile of health workers. Conclusions: These results showed that health professionals believed that there is a lack of adequate tools to evaluate pain in their patients and that this situation may have deleterious effect for them and health professionals as well. It is suggested that the use of the observation of behavioral changes may be the best way to assess pain and that they should be included in the evaluation tools to be used in patients with communication disabilities

Validación de una versión española del Cuestionario de Personalidad Esquizotípica (SPQ): Características Psicométricas y estructura factorial en una muestra de estudiantes universitarios sanos / Validation of a Spanish version of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ): Psychometric characteristics and underlying factor structure derived from a healthy university student simple

Objetivo. La detección, prevención e intervención precoz en psicosis ha llevado al estudio de los estadios prodrómicos y las experiencias psicóticas (psychotic experiences, o PE). La evaluación de la Esquizotipia supone una estrategia para el estudio de la vulnerabilidad a desarrollar psicosis, y representa un constructo de la personalidad que comprende experiencias perceptivas inusuales, pensamiento mágico, o conducta extraña. El desarrollo de instrumentos sensibles para medir estas características puede dar lugar a una mayor detección de los signos de transición a psicosis en personas con alto riesgo a desarrollarla, y del riesgo de recaídas en pacientes después de un primer episodio psicótico. El Cuestionario de Personalidad Esquizotípica (Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire - SPQ) es una escala autoadministrada desarrollada originalmente en inglés, que cubre los nueve criterios del DSM-IV para el Trastorno de Personalidad Esquizotípica (TEP). En el presente estudio se pretende realizar una versión española del SPQ, mediante la traducción del cuestionario, la evaluación de sus propiedades psicométricas, y su validación. Método. El SPQ original fue traducido al castellano y administrado en una muestra de estudiantes universitarios (n=250). Evaluamos la consistencia interna, validez convergente, validez divergente, y la validez de criterio del instrumento, y analizamos su estructura factorial. Resultados. Nuestra versión del cuestionario SPQ muestra una buena consistencia interna, validez convergente (OLIFE), discriminante (escala P del EPQ) y validez de criterio (SCID-II). El análisis factorial da soporte a una estructura de cuatro factores según los datos de bondad de ajuste de la escala. Conclusiones. Nuestra versión española del cuestionario SPQ preserva las propiedades psicométricas del cuestionario original. Esta adaptación puede ser una herramienta útil para la detección temprana de síntomas prodrómicos de la esquizofrenia, y de recaídas clínicas en población castellano-hablante

Objective. The need for early detection, prevention and intervention in psychosis has prompted the study of prodromal and threshold syndromes. One strategy involves the assessment of schizotypy, a personality construct involving unusual perceptual experiences, magical thinking or bizarre behavior. Sensitive measurement instruments could potentially allow detection of signs heralding transition to psychosis in high-risk individuals, or risk of relapse in patients after a first psychotic episode. The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) is a self-report scale, originally developed for English speakers, that covers the nine DSM-IV criteria for schizotypal personality disorder (SPD). Our aim was to validate a Spanish version of the SPQ and assess its psychometric properties. Methods. The original SPQ was back-translated and administered to university students (n=250). We assessed the internal consistency, the convergent, discriminant and criterion validity of the instrument, and analyzed its factor structure. Results. Our version of the SPQ showed good internal consistency, and convergent (O-LIFE), discriminant (P-scale of EPQ) and criterion validity (SCID-II). Factor analyses supported a four-factor structure in fitting SPQ data. Conclusions. Our Spanish version of the SPQ questionnaire preserved the psychometric properties of the original questionnaire. This adaptation will provide a useful tool for the early detection of prodromal schizophrenia symptoms and clinical relapse in Spanish-speaking populations

Personality Disorders Are Not as We Thought: Hierarchical Factor Structure at the Criterion Level.

The use of personality disorder (PD) categories persists, despite the evidence against them. An often overlooked reason for this is the fact that the true structure underlying the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) taxonomy is still unknown: We cannot be certain which disorders are valid, and which ones are arbitrary mixtures of heterogeneous traits. To address this gap, we factor analyzed the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire (PDQ-4+; Hyler, 1994 ) at the criterion level in a mixed clinical and nonclinical sample of 2,519 individuals. The resulting structure was more similar to current dimensional taxonomies than to the DSM classification at all hierarchical levels. Whereas paranoid and antisocial PDs-and to a lesser extent avoidant, dependent, depressive, and schizoid PDs-were fairly homogeneous, all other disorders turned out to be combinations of 2 or 3 unrelated dimensions. Our results strongly support the structure of empirically based dimensional taxonomies and relocate DSM criteria within this emerging framework, thus contributing to preserving much of the knowledge accumulated to date.

Orbitofrontal overactivation in reward processing in borderline personality disorder: the role of non-suicidal self-injury.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a disabling and difficult-to-treat mental disease. One of its core features is a significant difficulty in affect regulation, which is often accompanied by Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI). It is suggested that this type of behavior elicits positive emotions and mitigates emotional distress, and therefore can ultimately be reinforced and promoted. In spite of the high prevalence of NSSI behaviors (also in non-BPD samples), their role in modulating reward-related processes has not yet been investigated in BPD patients. In the present study, this lack of research was addressed. A large sample of BPD patients (N = 40), divided into two groups depending on the presence of NSSI, and a group of matched healthy controls underwent functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) while performing a gambling task. Patients who committed NSSI acts exhibited enhanced activation of the orbitofrontal cortex following an unexpected reward, when compared with controls and BPD patients with no NSSI behavior. In addition, the NSSI group showed diminished functional connectivity between the left orbitofrontal cortex and the right parahippocampal gyrus. These findings might suggest impaired ability to update reward associations of potential choices when both BPD and NSSI are present. We propose that the presence of NSSI involves alterations in the reward system independently of BPD, and thus can be considered as a possible phenotype for reward-related alterations.

Exploring the relationship between non suicidal self-injury and borderline personality traits in young adults.

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent during late adolescence and young adulthood. There is some evidence of a link between NSSI and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), but little is known about the association between BPD traits and the various functions that maintain NSSI. The main purpose of this study was to explore the association between borderline personality traits and NSSI functions in a sample of college students. We also compared NSSI functions in college students who engaged in NSSI to those in an age-matched sample of BPD patients. This study included a total of 238 college students and 36 BPD patients. Participants were asked to complete a number of clinical measures. In the non-clinical sample, BPD features were more pronounced in the presence of NSSI, and we observed a differential relationship between NSSI functions and psychopathological BPD-traits. The NSSI clinical variables most strongly associated with BPD were frequency, variety of methods and severity, but not age of onset. Our results provide new information on the relationship between BPD and NSSI in young adults, and could be used to improve the early detection of vulnerable BPD-individuals and in planning NSSI treatment.

Neonatal handling enduringly decreases anxiety and stress responses and reduces hippocampus and amygdala volume in a genetic model of differential anxiety: Behavioral-volumetric associations in the Roman rat strains.

The hippocampus and amygdala have been proposed as key neural structures related to anxiety. A more active hippocampus/amygdala system has been related to greater anxious responses in situations involving conflict/novelty. The Roman Low- (RLA) and High-avoidance (RHA) rat lines/strains constitute a genetic model of differential anxiety. Relative to RHA rats, RLA rats exhibit enhanced anxiety/fearfulness, augmented hippocampal/amygdala c-Fos expression following exposure to novelty/conflict, increased hippocampal neuronal density and higher endocrine responses to stress. Neonatal handling (NH) is an environmental treatment with long-lasting anxiety/stress-reducing effects in rodents. Since hippocampus and amygdala volume are supposed to be related to anxiety/fear, we hypothesized a greater volume of both areas in RLA than in RHA rats, as well as that NH treatment would reduce anxiety and the volume of both structures, in particular in the RLA strain. Adult untreated and NH-treated RHA and RLA rats were tested for anxiety, sensorimotor gating (PPI), stress-induced corticosterone and prolactin responses, two-way active avoidance acquisition and in vivo 7 T 1H-Magnetic resonance image. As expected, untreated RLA rats showed higher anxiety and post-stress hormone responses, as well as greater hippocampus and amygdala volumes than untreated RHA rats. NH decreased anxiety/stress responses, especially in RLA rats, and significantly reduced hippocampus and amygdala volumes in this strain. Dorsal striatum volume was not different between the strains nor it was affected by NH. Finally, there were positive associations (as shown by correlations, factor analysis and multiple regression) between anxiety and PPI and hippocampus/amygdala volumes.

Exploring the Relationship between Reward and Punishment Sensitivity and Gambling Disorder in a Clinical Sample: A Path Modeling Analysis.

Most individuals will gamble during their lifetime, yet only a select few will develop gambling disorder. Gray's Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory holds promise for providing insight into gambling disorder etiology and symptomatology as it ascertains that neurobiological differences in reward and punishment sensitivity play a crucial role in determining an individual's affect and motives. The aim of the study was to assess a mediational pathway, which included patients' sex, personality traits, reward and punishment sensitivity, and gambling-severity variables. The Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire, the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Symptom Checklist-Revised, and the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised were administered to a sample of gambling disorder outpatients (N = 831), diagnosed according to DSM-5 criteria, attending a specialized outpatient unit. Sociodemographic variables were also recorded. A structural equation model found that both reward and punishment sensitivity were positively and directly associated with increased gambling severity, sociodemographic variables, and certain personality traits while also revealing a complex mediational role for these dimensions. To this end, our findings suggest that the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire could be a useful tool for gaining a better understanding of different gambling disorder phenotypes and developing tailored interventions.

How temperament and character affect our career, relationships, and mental health.

BACKGROUND: On the way toward an agreed dimensional taxonomy for personality disorders (PD), several pivotal questions remain unresolved. We need to know which dimensions produce problems and in what domains of life; whether impairment can be found at one or both extremes of each dimension; and whether, as is increasingly advocated, some dimensions measure personality functioning whereas others reflect style. METHOD: To gain this understanding, we administered the Temperament and Character Inventory to a sample of 862 consecutively attended outpatients, mainly with PDs (61.2%). Using regression analysis, we examined the ability of personality to predict 39 variables from the Life Outcome Questionnaire concerning career, relationships, and mental health. RESULTS: Persistence stood out as the most important dimension regarding career success, with 24.2% of explained variance on average. Self-directedness was the best predictor of social functioning (21.1%), and harm avoidance regarding clinical problems (34.2%). Interpersonal dimensions such as reward dependence and cooperativeness were mostly inconsequential. In general, dimensions were detrimental only in one of their poles. CONCLUSIONS: Although personality explains 9.4% of life problems overall, dimensions believed to measure functioning (character) were not better predictors than those measuring style (temperament). The notion that PD diagnoses can be built upon the concept of "personality functioning" is unsupported.

Preserved Error-Monitoring in Borderline Personality Disorder Patients with and without Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Behaviors.

BACKGROUND: The presence of non-suicidal self-injury acts in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is very prevalent. These behaviors are a public health concern and have become a poorly understood phenomenon in the community. It has been proposed that the commission of non-suicidal self-injury might be related to a failure in the brain network regulating executive functions. Previous studies have shown that BPD patients present an impairment in their capacity to monitor actions and conflicts associated with the performance of certain actions, which suppose an important aspect of cognitive control. METHOD: We used Event Related Potentials to examine the behavioral and electrophysiological indexes associated with the error monitoring in two BPD outpatients groups (17 patients each) differentiated according to the presence or absence of non-suicidal self-injury behaviors. We also examined 17 age- and intelligence- matched healthy control participants. RESULTS: The three groups did not show significant differences in event-related potentials associated with errors (Error-Related Negativity and Pe) nor in theta power increase following errors. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study investigating the behavioral and electrophysiological error monitoring indexes in BPD patients characterized by their history of non-suicidal self-injury behaviors. Our results show that error monitoring is preserved in BPD patients and suggest that non-suicidal self-injury acts are not related to a dysfunction in the cognitive control mechanisms.

Conditioned Fear Acquisition and Generalization in Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Abnormal fear conditioning processes (including fear acquisition and conditioned fear-generalization) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders. Previous research has shown that individuals with panic disorder present enhanced conditioned fear-generalization in comparison to healthy controls. Enhanced conditioned fear-generalization could also characterize generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), but research so far is inconclusive. An important confounding factor in previous research is comorbidity. The present study examined conditioned fear-acquisition and fear-generalization in 28 patients with GAD and 30 healthy controls using a recently developed fear acquisition and generalization paradigm assessing fear-potentiated startle and online expectancies of the unconditioned stimulus. Analyses focused on GAD patients without comorbidity but included also patients with comorbid anxiety disorders. Patients and controls did not differ as regards fear acquisition. However, contrary to our hypothesis, both groups did not differ either in most indexes of conditioned fear-generalization. Moreover, dimensional measures of GAD symptoms were not correlated with conditioned fear-generalization indexes. Comorbidity did not have a significant impact on the results. Our data suggest that conditioned fear-generalization is not enhanced in GAD. Results are discussed with special attention to the possible effects of comorbidity on fear learning abnormalities.

Conditioned Subjective Responses to Socially Relevant Stimuli in Social Anxiety Disorder and Subclinical Social Anxiety.

UNLABELLED: Although enhanced fear conditioning has been implicated in the origins of social anxiety disorder (SAD), laboratory evidence in support of this association is limited. Using a paradigm employing socially relevant unconditioned stimuli, we conducted two separate studies to asses fear conditioning in individuals with SAD and non-clinical individuals with high social anxiety (subclinical social anxiety [SSA]). They were compared with age-matched and gender-matched individuals with another anxiety disorder (panic disorder with agoraphobia) and healthy controls (Study 1) and with individuals with low social anxiety (Study 2). Contrary to our expectations, in both studies, self-report measures (ratings of anxiety, unpleasantness and arousal to the conditioned stimuli) of fear conditioning failed to discriminate between SAD or SSA and the other participant groups. Our results suggest that enhanced fear conditioning does not play a major role in pathological social anxiety. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE: We used a social conditioning paradigm to study fear conditioning in clinical and subclinical social anxiety. We found no evidence of enhanced fear conditioning in social anxiety individuals. Enhanced fear conditioning may not be a hallmark of pathological social anxiety.

Testing the temporal stability of individual differences in the acquisition and generalization of fear.

We studied the temporal stability of individual differences in the acquisition and generalization of fear. Seventy-one participants were tested in two almost identical fear-acquisition and fear-generalization sessions (separated by 8 months). Acquisition and generalization were measured by the fear-potentiated startle, the skin conductance response, and online expectancies of the unconditioned stimulus. To control for the effects of previous experience, different stimuli were used for half of the participants in Session 2. Acquisition and generalization did not differ across sessions or as a function of the stimuli used in Session 2, and a significant proportion of individual differences in these processes was stable over time (generalizability coefficients ranged from 0.17 to 0.38). When the same stimuli were used, acquisition measures showed compromised stability. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and applied implications.

Negative reward expectations in Borderline Personality Disorder patients: neurophysiological evidence.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) patients present profound disturbances in affect regulation and impulse control which could reflect a dysfunction in reward-related processes. The current study investigated these processes in a sample of 18 BPD patients and 18 matched healthy controls, using an event-related brain potentials methodology. Results revealed a reduction in the amplitude of the Feedback-Related Negativity of BPD patients, which is a neurophysiological index of the impact of negative feedback in reward-related tasks. This reduction, in the effect of negative feedback in BPD patients, was accompanied by a different behavioral pattern of risk choice compared to healthy participants. These findings confirm a dysfunctional reward system in BDP patients, which might compromise their capacity to build positive expectations of future rewards and decision making.