ABSTRACT
A possible relationship between recognition of facial affect and aberrant eye movement was examined in patients with schizophrenia. A Japanese version of standard pictures of facial affect was prepared. These pictures of basic emotions (surprise, anger, happiness, disgust, fear, sadness) were shown to 19 schizophrenic patients and 20 healthy controls who identified emotions while their eye movements were measured. The proportion of correct identifications of 'disgust' was significantly lower for schizophrenic patients, their eye fixation time was significantly longer for all pictures of facial affect, and their eye movement speed was slower for some facial affects (surprise, fear, and sadness). One index, eye fixation time for "happiness," showed a significant difference between the high- and low-dosage antipsychotic drug groups. Some expected facial affect recognition disorder was seen in schizophrenic patients responding to the Japanese version of affect pictures, but there was no correlation between facial affect recognition disorder and aberrant eye movement.
Subject(s)
Affect , Cognition Disorders/diagnosis , Eye Movements , Pattern Recognition, Visual , Recognition, Psychology , Schizophrenia/diagnosis , Schizophrenic Psychology , Adult , Affect/drug effects , Antipsychotic Agents/administration & dosage , Cognition Disorders/drug therapy , Cognition Disorders/psychology , Discrimination, Psychological/drug effects , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Eye Movements/drug effects , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pattern Recognition, Visual/drug effects , Reaction Time/drug effects , Recognition, Psychology/drug effects , Schizophrenia/drug therapyABSTRACT
The efficacy and safety of the kampo medicine Yokukansan (YKS, TJ-54) in the treatment of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) were investigated in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in an open-label study. This study included 26 patients who had been diagnosed as having AD and were not treated with donepezil hydrochloride. These patients were administered YKS (7.5g/day) for four weeks to investigate the changes in neuropsychological test results and care burden in the period from the start to completion of the study treatment. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) was used for evaluation of BPSD, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) for evaluation of cognitive functions, the Zarit burden interview for evaluation of the caregiver's burden, Disability Assessment of Dementia (DAD) for evaluation of activities of daily living (ADL) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) for evaluation of the caregiver's depression. No significant change was seen in MMSE and DAD after four weeks of treatment, but the mean NPI total score decreased significantly. Furthermore, among the NPI subscales, a statistically significant decrease in score was not seen, however, a clinically significant decrease was seen in terms of hallucinations, agitation, anxiety, irritability or abnormal behavior. No significant changes were seen in caregiver's burden after four weeks of treatment. No serious adverse reactions to YKS were observed. The results of this study suggested that YKS may be an effective and well-tolerated drug in the treatment of BPSD in AD patients.
