[Efficiency of the attention networks and severity of positive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia]. / Effektivnost' setei vnimaniya i vyrazhennost' pozitivnoi i negativnoi simptomatiki pri shizofrenii.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the characteristics of the event related potentials during the attention network test in patients with schizophrenia depending on the severity of positive and negative symptoms. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 20 patients with schizophrenia, 10 of them with a predominance of positive symptoms and 10 patients with a predominance of negative symptoms. All patients were diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia (F20.0). Attention function was assessed using the attention network test with parallel recording of evoked responses. Differences in the amplitude and latency of N100 potential when presented with different types of cues, as well as P300 potential when identifying a congruent and incongruent flanker were analyzed. RESULTS: A comparative analysis of N100 potential for neutral cues and flankers showed significantly lower amplitude and longer latency in the group of patients with a predominance of negative symptoms (Cz channel).The amplitude of the evoked N100 response upon presentation of central and spatial cues was significantly higher in the group of patients with a predominance of positive symptoms. An analysis of P300 potential in Fz channel with congruent and incongruent flankers revealed no differences in the amplitude of both stimuli in the group of patients with a predominance of negative symptoms, while the amplitude of the evoked response to congruent and incongruent flankers was significantly higher in the group with a predominance of positive symptoms. In the group of patients with a predominance of positive symptoms, an inverse flanker response was established - P300 amplitude was significantly higher upon presentation of an incongruent flanker. CONCLUSION: The specific characteristics of evoked responses describing the features of such systems of attention as vigilance, orientation and conflict resolution have been established.

[Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and cognitive impairment]. / Cindrom obstruktivnogo apnoé sna i kognitivnye narusheniia.

Sleep-disordered breathing is associated with sleep fragmentation and reduced blood oxygenation due to apnea and hypopnea episodes. Multiple studies indicate that obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) can have negative impact on cognitive functioning, primarily executive functions, attention, and episodic memory. The attention is also focused on cognition in patients with neurologic and psychiatric comorbidities. There are different explanatory models, which show the mechanisms of OSAS influence on cognition. However, it is still unclear how the initial severity of the disease and clinical outcomes interrelate, and which factors play role in the compensation of cognitive dysfunction. Better understanding of these issues is crucial for the prevention of cognitive impairment and rehabilitation of cognitive functioning.

[Characteristics of thinking recorded in experimental psychological studies of young people]. / Osobennosti myshleniia u molodykh liudei, fiksiruemye v éksperimental'nykh psikhologicheskikh issledovaniiakh.

AIM: To identify the features of thinking of young people, whose mental development was carried out in conditions of life virtualization (in a networked society). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 310 mentally healthy respondents, aged from 18 to 20 years, who study in universities of St. Petersburg. Classical pathopsychological methods 'Exclusion of excess' and 'Comparison of concepts' were administered. The answers were divided into normative and non-normative, the latter were designated as psychopathological thinking phenomena (PPTP). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: PPTP were identified in 84.3% of the answers, with the frequency from 1 to 4 and more. The significant prevalence of PPTP in healthy young people was shown. PPTP in young people were unpredictable and chaotic. They were represented by generalizations based on latent signs, broad generalizations, and by a number of parameters characteristic of distortion of thinking. These features should not be considered as specific indicators of thinking disorders because they reflect only changed conditions of mental development characterized by the deformation of semantic matrices and substitution of hierarchic structures for network structures and excess of signs with multiple meanings. The results should be taken into consideration when evaluating the results of pathopsychological experiments.

[Stress levels and coping behavior in patients with chronic insomnia]. / Uroven' stressa i stress-preodolevaiushchee povedenie u patsientov s khronicheskoi insomniei.

AIM: To assess stress level and coping strategies in chronic insomnia as its potential psychological factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study group included 29 patients (19 women), aged 18-55 years old (mean age 33.1±2.1 years), with chronic insomnia diagnosed in accordance with the International Classification of Sleep Disorders III. The control group was formed by 32 subjects (11 men), aged 18-55 years old (mean age 31.5±2.0 years), without sleep disorders. Insomnia Severity Index and polysomnography were used to evaluate sleep quality. Stress level and coping strategies were assessed via an interview (stressfull life events during last year, their duration, their controllability, unexpectedness, and outcome), and by 'Level of subjective control' and 'Ways of coping questionnaires'. RESULTS: Both groups were comparable by the mean number of significant events during last year (4.97±0.34 vs 4.72±0.23, p=0.54). Patients with insomnia more often reported the loss of a relative (p=0.04), while controls more frequently reported positive events, such as pregnancy (p=0.007) or wedding (p=0.02) among close ones. Insomniacs more often described the stressful events as uncontrolled (p<0.001) and prolonged (p<0.001). They demonstrated lower indices of all the scales of the 'Level of subjective control', questionnaire except the scale of interpersonal attitudes. They rarely implemented confrontive coping (p=0.001), seeking social support (p<0.001), accepting responsibility (p<0.001) and positive reappraisal (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The interpretation of stressful events and personal response in insomnia patients might be considered as psychological risk factors for insomnia development.