The measurement of hallucinatory predisposition in male and female prisoners☆
Abstract
This paper describes the development of a 12-item questionnaire scale to measure hallucinatory predisposition. The scale, which conforms to at least one mathematical model of unidimensionality, includes both pathological items and other items which appear to represent sub-clinical forms of hallucinatory experience.
The scale was used to test certain hypotheses concerning the link between aggressive-paranoid tendencies and hallucinatory predisposition (using the Eysenck's P scale) in a prison sample. The significant results presented do confirm such a link, although the precise behavioural correlates of hallucinatory predisposition require further definition.
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Development and preliminary validation of the Postpartum Psychotic Experiences Scale (PPES)
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Pavlovian conditioning-induced hallucinations reduce MMN amplitudes for duration but not frequency deviants
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Data of 208 patients with AD, 291 patients with MCI and 647 HC were extracted from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center database. All participants included in this study were assessed by a physician for the MDD criteria, underwent an NPS evaluation using the NeuroPsychiatric Inventory, and a comprehensive cognitive assessment. Participants were classified as being with and without MDD. We performed logistic regression and MANCOVA models respectively with NPS and cognitive performance as variables of interest and MDD as fixed factors within each group. The MANCOVA was controlled for the effects of age, sex, and education.
MDD increased the risk for psychotic, affective and behavioral NPS in MCI, as well as affective and behavioral NPS in HC and AD. Also, MCI with MDD had lower performance on selective attention and mental flexibility.
MDD seems to increase the probability of a prevalence of NPS in all groups (HC, MCI and AD). Longitudinal data processing would help to understand the neuropsychiatric evolution of elderly subjects with MDD.
Le diagnostic du trouble dépressif majeur (TDM) est basé sur les critères du DSM-V et est établi par un clinicien. Il permet de quantifier la dépression sur la base de critères cliniques. En tant que tel, le TDM diffère des autres types de dépressions quantifiées sur la base d’échelles subjectives. Ici, nous avons évalué le facteur de risque du TDM sur d’autres symptômes neuropsychiatriques (SNP) ainsi que l’association du TDM avec la performance cognitive dans la maladie d’Alzheimer (MA), les troubles cognitifs légers (TCL) et les contrôles sains (CS).
Les données de 208 patients atteints de la MA, 291 patients atteints de TCL et 647 CS ont été extraites de la base de données du National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center. Chaque participant inclus a été évalué par un médecin selon les critères du TDM, a subi une évaluation des SNP à l’aide de l’inventaire neuropsychiatrique et une évaluation cognitive complète. Les participants ont été classés en deux catégories: avec et sans TDM. Nous avons effectué une régression logistique et un modèle d’analyse de covariance multivariée (MANCOVA) respectivement avec les SNP et les performances cognitives comme variables d’intérêt et le TDM comme facteur fixe au sein de chaque groupe. La MANCOVA a été contrôlée pour les effets de l’âge, du sexe et de l’éducation.
Le TDM a augmenté le risque de SNP psychotiques, affectifs et comportementaux dans le TCL, et de SNP affectifs/comportementaux chez les participants CS et MA. De plus, les personnes atteintes de TCL et de TDM avaient des performances inférieures en matière d’attention sélective et de flexibilité mentale par rapport aux TCL sans TDM.
Le TDM semble augmenter la probabilité d’une prévalence plus élevée de NPS dans tous les groupes (CS, TCL et MA). Le traitement de données longitudinales permettrait de comprendre l’évolution neuropsychiatrique des sujets âgés avec un TDM.
Conditioned Hallucinations and Prior Overweighting Are State-Sensitive Markers of Hallucination Susceptibility
2022, Biological PsychiatryRecent advances in computational psychiatry have identified latent cognitive and perceptual states that predispose to psychotic symptoms. Behavioral data fit to Bayesian models have demonstrated an overreliance on priors (i.e., prior overweighting) during perception in select samples of individuals with hallucinations, corresponding to increased precision of prior expectations over incoming sensory evidence. However, the clinical utility of this observation depends on the extent to which it reflects static symptom risk or current symptom state.
To determine whether task performance and estimated prior weighting relate to specific elements of symptom expression, a large, heterogeneous, and deeply phenotyped sample of hallucinators (n = 249) and nonhallucinators (n = 209) performed the conditioned hallucination (CH) task.
We found that CH rates predicted stable measures of hallucination status (i.e., peak frequency). However, CH rates were more sensitive to hallucination state (i.e., recent frequency), significantly correlating with recent hallucination severity and driven by heightened reliance on past experiences (priors). To further test the sensitivity of CH rate and prior weighting to symptom severity, a subset of participants with hallucinations (n = 40) performed a repeated-measures version of the CH task. Changes in both CH frequency and prior weighting varied with changes in auditory hallucination frequency on follow-up.
These results indicate that CH rate and prior overweighting are state markers of hallucination status, potentially useful in tracking disease development and treatment response.
Relationships among subclinical psychotic symptoms in young adults over time
2022, Psychiatry ResearchSubclinical psychotic symptoms are common in the general population and are often benign. However, those that become distressing or persistent may increase risk for the development of a psychotic disorder. Cognitive models have proposed that certain appraisals of hallucinatory experiences can lead to delusional beliefs, particularly if an individual is experiencing negative mood. However, the dynamic relationships among these symptoms are poorly understood. This study examined the longitudinal relationships among subclincal hallucinations, delusional ideation, and depression in a sample of young adults.
677 college students completed baseline questionnaires to assess: delusional ideation (Peters Delusions Inventory), hallucinations (Launay-Slade Hallucinations Scale-Extended), and depression (Beck Depression Inventory). These measures were repeated 7, 13, 19, and 25 months later.
Higher baseline severity of hallucinations was strongly predictive of severity of delusions across all future follow-up timepoints, specifically when baseline depression was high. However, the severity of hallucinations did not change over time, nor were they predicted by baseline delusional ideation.
These findings support the proposal that hallucinations frequently precede more severe delusional ideation, rather than the reverse sequence, particularly when depressive symptoms are present. Such longitudinal relationships provide clues to the underlying mechanisms of psychosis, highlighting one pathway for intervention.
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The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent those of the Home Office, Prison Department.