A marsupialized retrovermian arachnoid cyst and psychotic symptoms.

In this article, we report a male patient that developed psychotic symptoms after the excision of an arachnoid cyst from the posterior fossa detected by magnetic resonance and subsequent clinical improvement after anti-psychotic treatment.

On the Radicalization Process.

This study aimed to provide an in-depth description of the radicalization process, which is a very important step in terrorist activities. The author proposes a translational analysis that is first based on the author's experience in the psychological evaluation of terrorist behavior and second on an exhaustive review of the current literature. The search terms "terrorism," "radicalization," "social psychology," and "psychopathology" were used to identify relevant studies in the following databases: Scopus, Medline, PubCentral, and Science Direct. Because of its importance, understanding radicalization process should be one of the priorities of behavioral scientists. International studies should be performed with a focus on several aspects, such as radicalization risk factors, brainwashing, the role of the media, and finally, in de-radicalization programs.

Fraud, individuals, and networks: A biopsychosocial model of scientific frauds.

The problem of fraud, especially scientific fraud, is global and its identification risk is still in its infancy. Based on an in-depth analysis of several financial and scientific fraud trials, the authors propose a new and integrative model of scientific fraud. This model identifies two major levels for committing fraud: (i) at the personal skills level (micro-level) and (ii) at the network skills level (macro-level). Interacting continuously with each other, they form a dynamic, efficient, and integrative system: an integrative model of fraud. The micro-level refers to three factors: (i) personality organization, (ii) social competence, and (iii) the so-called triangle of fraud. The macro-level refers essentially to social network organization and social engineering. Then, the key to understanding and mostly controlling fraud is to consider both the individual and the environment in which they operate. Based on our model, several steps at the micro- and macro-levels can be proposed.

Analysis of the sleep EEG in the complexity domain.

Conventional sleep analysis relies primarily on electroencephalogram (EEG) waveform features assessed in concert with eye movements, respiration and muscle tone. We explore a complementary "complexity domain" approach based on multiscale entropy (MSE) analysis of EEG signals and discuss its relationships to standard sleep analysis and to that based on electrocardiogram (ECG)-derived cardiopulmonary coupling (CPC). We observe a progressive decrease in complexity associated with decreased arousability, as measured by both conventional sleep scoring and CPC analysis. Furthermore, complexity analysis supports the contention that stage 2 non-REM sleep has distinct sub-phases that map to CPC high- and low-frequency coupled dynamics.

Psychopathy and the cinema: fact or fiction?

The authors investigated the relationship between cinema and psychopathy to describe and analyze the portrayal of fictional psychopathic characters in popular films and over cinematic history. From 400 films (1915-2010), 126 fictional psychopathic characters (21 female and 105 male) were selected based on the realism and clinical accuracy of their profiles. Movies were then analyzed by senior forensic psychiatrists and cinema critics. Secondary (71%) and manipulative (48%) subtypes were the most common in the female group, while secondary (51%) and prototypical (34%) were the most common in the male group. Corresponding to the increased understanding of clinical psychopathy by professional mental health providers over time, the clinical description of and epidemiological data on fictional psychopaths in popular films have become more realistic. Realistic fictional psychopaths remain in the minority but are very important for didactic purposes in Academic facilities, as "teaching Movies."

High levels of psychopathic traits alters moral choice but not moral judgment.

Psychopathy is a personality disorder frequently associated with immoral behaviors. Previous behavioral studies on the influence of psychopathy on moral decision have yielded contradictory results, possibly because they focused either on judgment (abstract evaluation) or on choice of hypothetical action, two processes that may rely on different mechanisms. In this study, we explored the influence of the level of psychopathic traits on judgment and choice of hypothetical action during moral dilemma evaluation. A population of 102 students completed a questionnaire with ten moral dilemmas and nine non-moral dilemmas. The task included questions targeting both judgment ("Is it acceptable to … in order to …?") and choice of hypothetical action ("Would you … in order to …?"). The level of psychopathic traits of each participant was evaluated with the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy (LSRP) scale. Logistic regression fitted with the generalized estimating equations method analyses were conducted using responses to the judgment and choice tasks as the dependent variables and psychopathy scores as predictor. Results show that a high level of psychopathic traits, and more specifically those related to affective deficit, predicted a greater proportion of utilitarian responses for the choice but not for the judgment question. There was no first-order interaction between the level of psychopathic traits and other potential predictors. The relation between a high level of psychopathic traits and increased utilitarianism in choice of action but not in moral judgment may explain the contradictory results of previous studies where these two processes were not contrasted. It also gives further support to the hypothesis that choice of action endorsement and abstract judgment during moral dilemma evaluation are partially distinct neural and psychological processes. We propose that this distinction should be better taken into account in the evaluation of psychopathic behaviors.

Behavioural aspects of terrorism.

Behavioural and social sciences are useful in collecting and analysing intelligence data, understanding terrorism, and developing strategies to combat terrorism. This article aims to examine the psychopathological concepts of terrorism and discusses the developing roles for behavioural scientists. A systematic review was conducted of studies investigating behavioural aspects of terrorism. These studies were identified by a systematic search of databases, textbooks, and a supplementary manual search of references. Several fundamental concepts were identified that continue to influence the motives and the majority of the behaviours of those who support or engage in this kind of specific violence. Regardless of the psychological aspects and new roles for psychiatrists, the behavioural sciences will continue to be called upon to assist in developing better methods to gather and analyse intelligence, to understand terrorism, and perhaps to stem the radicalisation process.

Brain, networks, depression, and more.

Depression is a heterogeneous disorder with a highly variable course. Individual responses to treatment are inconsistent, and an established mechanism remains elusive. The classical hypothesis of depression posits that mood disorders are caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that can be corrected with antidepressant drugs. However, recent evidence indicates that information-processing dysfunction within neural networks might underlie depression, and antidepressant drugs induce plastic changes in neuronal connectivity that gradually lead to improvements in neuronal information processing and recovery. This review presents the major current approaches to understanding the biological mechanisms of major depression, with a focus on complex brain networks.

The myth of virginity: the case of a Franco-Belgian serial killer.

This article provides an in-depth description of the case of Michel Fourniret (MF), a French serial killer who, with his wife Monique Olivier (MO), confessed to kidnapping, raping, and murdering at least nine girls during the 1980s and 1990s. Using information from writers, witnesses, trial experts, and regarding current forensic literature, we utilize this case to discuss sexual homicide from both the forensic and neuropsychiatric perspectives. Interview, psychometric, and forensic data from the trial were used to explain and shed light on MF's and MO's personalities and psychosexual proclivities. In the final section, we propose and discuss several theories and specific areas of potential exploration that, in light of the murder couple case story, may prove fruitful in the study of violent attachment and murder pacts.

Altered sleep brain functional connectivity in acutely depressed patients.

Recent evidence suggests that problems in information processing within neural networks may underlie depressive disease. In this study, we investigated whether sleep functional brain networks are abnormally organized during a major depressive episode (MDE). We characterized spatial patterns of functional connectivity by computing the "synchronization likelihood" (SL) of 19 sleep EEG channels in 11 acutely depressed patients [42 (20-51) years] and 14 healthy controls [32.9 (27-42) years]. To test whether disrupting an optimal pattern ["small-world network" (SWN)] of functional brain connectivity underlies MDE, graph theoretical measures were then applied to the resulting synchronization matrices, and a clustering coefficient (C, measure of local connectedness) and a shortest path length (L, measure of overall network integration) were determined. In the depressed group, the mean SL was lower in the delta, theta and sigma frequency bands. Acutely depressed patients showed a significantly lower path length in the theta and delta frequency bands, whereas the cluster coefficient showed no significant changes. The present study provides further support that sleep functional brain networks exhibit "small-world" properties. Sleep neuronal functional networks in depressed patients are characterized by a functional reorganization with a lower mean level of global synchronization and loss of SWN characteristics. These results argue for considering an MDE as a problem of neuronal network organization and a problem of information processing.