ABSTRACT
To explore the characteristics of exploratory eye movement (EEM) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) in elderly patients with acute bipolar and unipolar depression. Methods Thirty-eight elderly patients with bipolar depression (bipolar group) and thirty-nine patients with unipolar depression (unipolar group) were enrolled. The 24-item Hamilton depression rating scale (HAMD-24) was used to evaluate depressive symptoms. The levels of peripheral serum adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol (COR) were detected. EEM was recorded to obtain the number of eye fixation (NEF), responsive search score (RSS) and discriminant analysis (D). Results Compared with the unipolar group, the bipolar group had earlier onset, longer duration, and more admissions (P＜0.05). In comparison with the bipolar group, the unipolar group had higher levels of ACTH and COR (P＜0.05), and higher abnormal proportion of COR and ACTH levels. D-values were higher and RSS-values were lower in unipolar group than in bipolar group. There were no significant differences in NEF and HAMD total scores and its subfactors between the two groups (P＞0.05). Correlation analysis showed that the D value of unipolar group was positively correlated with COR level (r=0.482, P=0.002) but not with other indexes (P＞0.05). There were no significant correlations between EEM parameters and serum levels of HPA hormones in bipolar group (P＞0.05). Conclusion There are different clinical features, EEM indicators, the serum levels of ACTH and COR between acute unipolar and bipolar depression, which suggests the heterogeneity between the two diseases.
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Objective To investigate the auditory sensory gating P50 in schizophrenia patients with homicide during three months of follow up. Methods Twenty-five patients with schizophrenia patients with homicide and 27 healthy adults matched with age and education level were recruited in the present study. P50 was recorded in twenty-seven normal controls and twenty-five schizophrenia patients at the baseline. P50 was repeatedly recorded in eleven patients who completed the follow-up at three months following antipsychotics treatment. The psychotic symptoms of patients were assessed with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at the same time. Results ①In comparison with normal controls, schizophrenia patients with homicide showed increased S2-P50 amplitude (P<0.01), increased S2/S1 ratio (P<0.01), decreased S1-S2(P<0.05), and 100(1-S2/S1) (P<0.01) at the baseline and after three months treatment. The differences in P50 amplitude, latency, and P50 suppression index between the baseline and after three-month treatment in schizophrenia patients with homicide were not significant (P>0.05). ② Schizophrenia patients with homicide after three-month treatment showed decreased PANSS total scale, positive scale, general psychopathology scale, and six symptoms scales such as lack of response, thought disorder, activation, paranoid, depression, and aggression (P<0.05). ③ No significant correlations were found between the S2/S1 ratio, S2-S1, and 100(1-S2/S1) with disease duration, PANSS scores, and six symptoms scales at either baseline or after three-month treatment (P>0.05). Conclusions Schizophrenia with homicide has sensory gating deficits and P50 suppression index might be a stable trait maker for schizophrenia with homicide.
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Objective To explore the characteristics of executive function and the changes of executive function in schizophrenics with and without homicide behaviors during follow-up.Methods Twenty-two schizophrenics with homicide behaviors (homicide group)and twenty-one schizophrenics without homicide behaviors (without-homicide group) were examined by Wisconsin Card Sorting Test(WCST),and followed up 3 months.All patients'clinical symptoms were evaluated by positive and negative symptom scale(PANSS)at the same time.Re-suits (1)At the baseline,homicide group showed higher score in complete lst category(R1st)than without-homicide group((28.64±32.73)vs(11.71±8.10),P=0.027)and no difference on other index.(2)No difference on WCST in homicide group between at the baseline and at three-month treatment (P>0.05).Without-homicide group at the baseline showed higher score in conceptual level responses than that of at three-menth treatment((46.80±27.04)vs.(65.02±21.32),P=0.048).(3)Homicide group at three-month treatment showed lower scores in positive scale,general psychopathology scale,PANSS total,thought disorder,activation,paranoid,aggressive than that of at the baseline(P<0.05).Without-hemicide group at three-month treatment showed lower scores in positive scale,negative scale,general psychopathology scale,PANSS total,thought disorder,activation,aggressive than that of at the haseline(P<0.01).(4)At the baseline,there was no correlation between WCST and PANSS in homicide group,only R1st score correlated with activation positively in without-homicide group(P<0.05).At three-month treatment, homicide group showed the score of failure to maintain set negatively correlated with negative scale,PANSS total, and aggressive(P<0.05).Conclusions Schizophrenics with homicide and without-homicide behaviors show executive function deficits.Homicide group shows more deficits in abstraction capacity than without-homicide group.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To explore the spatio-temporal dynamics of brain mechanisms in visual change detection by 256-channel event-related potential (ERP) and low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) analyses.Methods：ERP were recorded in 12 healthy participants during performing an S1-S2 matching task.Visual stimuli defined by color and shape.Each trial consisted of two sequentially presented stimuli (S1 and S2),where S2 was either the same as S1,different from S1 in shape only,different in color only,or different in both color and shape.Subjects matched the stimuli according to task demands：attending to color and attending to shape.Result：Change condition elicited change-related positivity (CRP) ranging 135～165 ms.The estimated source regions contributing to CRP were lingual gyrus and cuneus of occipital lobe.N200 was elicited in no change and task-irrelevant change condition ranging 235～275 ms.The source for N200 was in the right temporal fusiform gyrus,middle temporal gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus.In the time window of 240～320 ms,N270 was elicited in all change conditions.The N270 source was localizable to the anterior cingulated cortex and amygdala.Conclusion：In the early stage,CRP reflects the preattentive processing of visual changes.The LORETA result confirms that CRP is generated in the early visual areas.N200 may be related to the active ignored processing of task-irrelevant change.The source for N200 is in the right temporal fusiform gyrus,middle temporal gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus.In the late stage,N270 reflects the advanced processing of visual change in the human brain.The N270 source may be in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and amygdala.