[Clinical and psychometric characteristics of cognitive and negative disorders in schizophrenia]. / Klinicheskie i psikhometricheskie osobennosti kognitivnykh i negativnykh rasstroistv pri shizofrenii.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the characteristics of clinical manifestations and cognitive tests in patients with schizophrenia, with a predominance of cognitive and negative disorders. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We examined 76 patients, 66 in the main group, 10 in the comparison group, who were treated in Psychiatric Hospital No. 1 and Psychiatric Hospital No. 4 (Moscow). Clinical-psychopathological, psychometric and statistical methods were used. Features of cognitive functioning were studied using the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) and the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Screen (ECAS). Emotional intelligence scores were assessed using the Ekman Face Emotion Recognition (EFER) test. RESULTS: Patients with schizophrenia showed dominance of one of 3 types of deficit symptoms: cognitive, emotional, and volitional. Cognitive functions were significantly reduced in patients with schizophrenia when compared with the comparison group (mean FAB score (M±SD) 13.44±2.97 in patients with schizophrenia vs. 16.10±1.70 in the comparison group; t=4.10; p<0.001). Cognitive functions were particularly reduced in patients with volitional deficit (mean EFER total score 42.40±9.0 in patients with volitional deficit vs. 47.21±633 in patients with cognitive deficit; t=2.12; p=0.039; mean FAB score 12.83±3.29 in patients with volitional deficit vs. 16.10±1.70 in the comparison group; t=4.24; p<0.001; mean ECAS score specific to ALS 78.80±9.07 in patients with volitional deficit vs. 84.50±6.71 in the comparison group; t=2.18; p=0.034). CONCLUSION: The greatest contribution to the development of cognitive disorders in schizophrenia is made by dysfunction of frontal (especially) and temporal cortex. Executive functions, speech skills and verbal fluency are most severely damaged.

[Modulating effect of dopamine on amplitude of GABA-produced chemocontrolled currents in multipolar spinal cord neurons of ammocaete].

By using the patch-clamp method in the whole cell configuration, modulating effect of dopamine on GABA-activated currents has been studied on isolated multipolar spinal cord neurons of the ammocaete (larva of the lamprey Lampetra planeri). At application of dopamine (5 microM), there was observed in some cases a decrease of the GABA-activated current, on average, by 33.3 +/- 8.7 (n = 8, p < 0.01), in other cases--an increase of the amplitude, on average, by 37.3 +/- 11.8% (n = 5, p < 0.01). Concentration of GABA amounted to 2 mM. Study of action of agonists of D1- and D2-receptors on amplitude of che-mocontrolled currents has shown that agonist of D1-receptors (+)-SKF-38393 (5 microM) decreases the GABA-activated current amplitude, on average, by 63.1 +/- 11.7% (n = 8, p < 0.01); the agonist of D2-receptors (-)-quinpirole (5 microM) produces in various cells the dopamine-like effects: an increase of the GABA-activated current amplitude, on average, by 61.0 +/- 13.8% (n = 8, p < 0.01) and a decrease of amplitude, on average, by 55.7 +/- 2.0 % (n = 6, p < 0.01). It has been shown that antagonist of D2-receptors sulpiride (5 microM) does not block effects produced by dopamine. The dopamine effects were partially blocked by antagonist of D1-receptors (+)-SCH-23390 (5 microM): a decrease of the GABA-activated amplitude current amounted, on average, to 11.7 +/- 1.8 % (n = 7, p < 0.01), while an increase of amplitude--8.3 +/- 2.0 % (n = 5,p < 0.01). At the same time, effects of agonist of D1-receptors quinpirole (5 microM) were partially blocked by antagonist of D1-receptors (+)-SCH-23390: a decrease of the GABA-activated current amplitude amounted, on average, to 9.2 +/- 3.4 % (n = 6, p < 0.01) and an increase of amplitude--6.3 +/- 1.8 % (n = 10, p < 0.01). The obtained data indicate differences of mechanisms of the receptor-mediated effect of agonists of dopamine receptors on GABA-activated and potential-activated currents of multipolar neurons of the ammocaete spinal cord.

[Peculiarities of dopamine receptors on the membrane of spinal cord multipolar neurons of the brook lamprey Lampetra planeri].

On isolated multiporal neurons of spinal cord of amniocoete larva of the brook lamprey Lampetra planeri, by the patch-clamp method in configuration "the whole cell", a modulating effect of dopamine on potential-activated Na+ currents was studied. Application of dopamine (10 microM) was shown to produce a complex action on the sodium current amplitude. In some cases a decrease of the amplitude, on average, by 13.5 +/- 2.2% was found, while in others--an increase, on average, by 8.6 +/- 6.1%. The modulation dopamine effect was not accompanied by any changes either of the threshold of the current appearance or of resistance of neuronal cell membranes. Pharmacological analysis with use of dopamine agonist has shown that the agonist of D1-receptors (-)-SKF-38393 (10 microM) decreases the Na+ current amplitude, whereas the agonist of D2-receptors (-)-quinpirole (10 microM) can produce in different cells both an increase, by 30.7 +/- 17.0 %, and a decrease, by 13.2 +/- 3.1%, of the Na+ current amplitude. The obtained data indicate the existence of D1- and D2-receptors on the membrane of multipolar spinal neurons of the amniocoete larva of the brook lamprey. Study of action of antagonists has shown that the antagonist of D1-receptors (+)-SCH-23390 (10 microM) does not affect action of the agonist of D1-receptors (-)-SKF-38393 (10 microM); the antagonist of D2-receptors (-)-sulpiride (10 microM) blocks completely effects both of the agonist of D1-receptors (-)-SKF-38393 (10 microM) and of the agonist of D2-receptors (-)-quinpirole (10 microM). The antagonist of D1-receptors (+)-SCH-23390 (10 microM) produced no effect on action of the agonist of D1-receptors (-)-SKF-38393 (10 microM). The obtained data indicate peculiarities of dopamine receptors of Cyclostomata as compared with those in mammals.