Anhedonia and perceptual aberration in first-episode psychotic patients and their relatives

Article Abstract:

Characteristics that predispose an individual to psychosis have been studied with the hope that the early identification of such features may lead to the early treatment. Identification of these factors also may reveal information regarding the causes of psychosis. It was hypothesized that first-degree relatives of psychotic patients would score more abnormally on tests of these characteristics than normal control subjects. Three tests were used to assess 118 psychiatric patients shortly after they experienced their first episode of psychosis. One hundred twenty-five of their first degree relatives were also tested, along with 155 normal subjects. The three tests used were the Physical Anhedonia Scale (PAS), the Perceptual Aberration Scale (PABS), and the Social Anhedonia Scale (SAS). Anhedonia is the inability to derive pleasure from activities that are normally perceived as pleasurable. This characteristic has been thought to be an early indication of mental illness. The results of the tests for the three groups were as expected for the PAS and SAS scores; the psychiatric patients had significantly more abnormal scores than their first-degree relatives, who in turn had significantly more abnormal results than those in the normal control group. These findings indicate that there are personality traits that may predispose certain individuals to psychosis and that can be identified using these scales. However, the first-degree relatives actually had lower scores on the PABS than the normal controls, which was unexpected. To account for this finding, it is posited that a defensive response may have been developed by the relatives. Further research is recommended in the use of clinical measures of psychopathology to identify traits that can distinguish individuals who may be predisposed to psychosis. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Diagnosis, Measurement, Testing, Perception, Perception (Psychology), Anhedonia, Perception, Disorders of, Perceptual distortion

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Familial prevalence and coaggregation of schizotypy indicators: a multitrait family study

Article Abstract:

Researchers are now relatively certain that genetics plays a role in at least some cases of schizophrenia. What role the genes may play, however, remains unclear. The single-gene theory states that there is a single gene that, when damaged, is the primary cause of schizophrenia. Other theories propose that there are more than one gene involved. One way to evaluate competing genetic theories would be to define characteristics that seem to be unique to schizophrenics and then track these traits, or phenotypes, in their families. Patterns of inheritance could then be analyzed to determine whether traits are passed on, and if so whether they are passed on together or separately. The latter would be more supportive of a multi-gene model of schizophrenia while the former would support the single-gene model. Such a study would need to identify and investigate multiple traits. Most studies to date have tracked only a single trait at a time, making it difficult to speculate on the number of genes involved. A group of 17 schizophrenics was studied, as was a group of 61 of their first-degree relatives and a group of 18 normal subjects. All were evaluated for evidence of personality characteristics common in schizophrenics, for their ability to track moving stimuli with their eyes, and for attention dysfunction. As expected, performance of schizophrenics was abnormal in all cases. Of significance were findings that similar abnormalities were seen significantly more often in family members of schizophrenics than in control subjects, and that these traits tended to be seen together in these individuals. This provides some support for theories that propose a genetic factor in schizophrenia, and specifically supports the single-gene model. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Psychological aspects, Mental illness, Mental disorders, Family, Schizophrenia

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An event-related potential investigation of posthypnotic recognition amnesia

Article Abstract:

A study of forty-two persons chosen for high hypnotizability or for low hypnotizability revealed that, whether amnesia is indicated or not, all the individuals possessed greater late positive component amplitudes to learned than to unlearned words. Considerable changes are observed in attention- related and recognition-related event-related potential component amplitudes for highly hypnotizable persons for whom amnesia was observed. The powers of selection, attention and accessibility depend on posthypnotic amnesia.

Research, Analysis, Observations, Attention (Psychology), Amnesia, Attention, Hypnotic susceptibility

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