Evaluation of attention bias in morphine and methamphetamine abusers towards emotional scenes during early abstinence: An eye-tracking study

Introduction: We hypothesized that inappropriate attention during the period of abstinence in individuals with substance use disorder can result in an inadequate perception of emotion and unsuitable reaction to emotional scenes. The main aim of this research was to evaluate the attentional bias towards emotional images in former substance abusers and compare it to healthy adults. Methods: Paired images of general scenes consisting of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral images were presented to subjects for 3 s while their attentional bias and eye movements were measured by eye tracking. The participants were 72 male adults consisting of 23 healthy control, 24 morphine former abusers, and 25 methamphetamine former abusers. The former abusers were recruited from a private addiction quitting center and addiction rehabilitation campus. The healthy individuals were selected from general population. Number and duration of first fixation, duration of first gaze, and sustained attention towards emotional scenes were measured as the main variables and the data were analyzed using the repeated measures ANOVA. Results: A significant difference was observed between former morphine abusers and healthy control in terms of number and duration of first fixations and first gaze duration towards pleasant images. Discussion: Individuals with morphine use disorder have more problems with attending to emotional images compared to methamphetamine abusers and healthy people

Working memory and response inhibition in patients with bipolar I disorder during euthymic period

Background: Several cognitive domains, including attention, memory, and executive functions are impaired in bipolar disorder. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate two executive functions (working memory and response inhibition) in patients with bipolar I disorder during remission of the symptoms. Patients and Methods: In this case-control design, 30 bipolar I patients (18 to 45 years old) were matched with 30 ones in the control group in terms of age, gender, and education. The patients were selected from Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital (a hospital affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences) from May to October 2013. They were evaluated and contrasted using working memory (Spatial Span and Spatial Working Memory (SSP and SWM)) and response inhibition (Stop Signal Task (SST)) tests. Results: We used independent t-tests for comparing and contrasting 2 groups on total and sub-scales scores of these 3 tests. In terms of SWM test there was a significant difference in between-group error between the two groups (P = 0.05); there was also a meaningful difference between the strategies used by two groups (P = 0.05). In SSP test, a significant difference appeared between averages of span length of the two groups. In the first and last item delays, there was also a clear difference, but the total error index was not noticeably different. In SST test, the direction error indicator in start-stop trials indicated a major difference, while in successful stops ratio, the case group had a lower ratio. In addition, reaction time to stop signs in bipolar group was meaningfully lower than the control group. Conclusion: In conclusion, even during remission phase, executive dysfunction is detectable at least in some areas in patients with bipolar disorder. © 2015, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences

Effects of correct and wrong answers on ERPs recorded under conditions of the continuous performance test in ADHD/normal participants

Parameters of event-related potentials (ERPs) regarding correct and wrong answers under conditions of the continuous performance test (CPT) were measured in 50 adult subjects with the absence/presence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) and characterized by different levels of sustained attention. For ERP extraction, the average for each group of signals, which were time-locked to the onset of stimuli, was calculated; two ERP groups were considered separately for correct and wrong answers. In both groups, the P300 wave was clearly observed. The time dynamics of ERP components were investigated in six defined time blocks. At the peak of P300, a prominent component of brain activity could be observed. Some ERP morphological features (704 items) were extracted from these potentials. The results indicated that 11 of the obtained features had a significant (P<0.01) relation to the level of sustained attention. When comparing correct and wrong answers, 10 features in the normal group and 3 features in the ADHD group demonstrated significant differences (P < 0.05), which means that the participant’s response is reflected in the features of EEG signal. The results reveal a promising relation between CPT results and some parameters of brain signals, which can be used for further evaluations of the sustained attention level.Параметри пов’язаних з подією ЕЕГ-потенціалів (ППП) вимірювали у 50 дорослих тестованих з відсутністю (норма) та наявністю синдрому дефіциту уваги й гіперактивності (АDНD), котрі демонстрували різні градації рівня підтримуваної уваги. Враховували правильність і помилковість відповідей в умовах тесту безперервного виконання (continuous performance test, CPT). Щоб описати ППП, розраховували середні значення для кожної групи сигналів, «прив’язаних» до моменту пред’явлення стимулу. Було виділено дві окремі групи ППП, відповідно до вірних та помилкових відповідей. Хвиля Р300 була чітко представлена в обох групах ППП. Часова динаміка компонентів ППП була досліджена в межах шести ізольованих часових блоків. Пік Р300 віддзеркалював чітко виражений компонент церебральної активності. У складі ППП було виділено низку морфологічних особливостей (усього 704 риси). Виявилося, що 11 з таких рис вірогідно (P < 0.01) корелювали з рівнем постійної уваги. При порівнянні ППП, пов’язаних з вірними та хибними відповідями, істотні відмінності демонстрували 10 рис у групі норми та три риси в групі АDНD (P < 0.05). Це свідчить про те, що характер відповіді тестованого певним чином віддзеркалюється в патерні ЕЕГ-сигналу. Отримані дані вказують на наявність зв’язку між результатами СРТ і деякими параметрами ЕЕГ-сигналів. Це може бути використано для об’єктивної оцінки рівня підтримуваної уваги

Prevalence and Correlates of Cigarette Smoking in Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients in Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study and Narrative Review

Context: Smoking in adolescence is a worldwide health problem. Understanding the prevalence of smoking and its clinical correlates in adolescent inpatients is useful for mental health staff to plan effective programs to reduce its detrimental consequences. In this study, we investigated the prevalence and correlates of cigarette smoking and its sociodemographic and clinical correlates. We performed a narrative review of cigarette smoking prevalence among adolescents as well as a descriptive study in inpatient adolescents in Iran. Evidence Acquisition: This was a multicentric, cross-sectional, and hospital-based survey. In total, 82 patients (male/female: 66.9 vs. 33.1) were consecutively recruited from 5 child and adolescent inpatient psychiatric wards of Iran. The study data were collected from patients, their family members and patients' medical records. The descriptive statistics, Pearson's chi-squared test, and univariate logistic regression analyses were employed to analyze the obtained data. Additionally, we added a narrative review to understand the prevalence rate of smoking and its clinical correlates in adolescent inpatients. Results: The prevalence rate of smoking was 30 in our study sample (24.5 in boys and 39.5 in girls). There was a significant association between smoking with family size, history of suicide attempt, physical illness, drug misuse in patients, and alcohol or drug misuse in family members. The prevalence of mood disorders in the nonsmokers and smokers were 37.5 and 62.5, respectively. Overall, 26.6 of the subjects had a history of suicide attempt of whom, 52.9 were smokers. Conclusions: Results of this study about the association between smoking with family size, history of suicide attempt, physical illness, drug misuse, and other related factors, call for both careful screening of smoking and specially designed integrated psychiatric/smoking treatments in these patients

The development of cross-cultural recognition of vocal emotion during childhood and adolescence

Humans have an innate set of emotions recognised universally. However, emotion recognition also depends on socio-cultural rules. Although adults recognise vocal emotions universally, they identify emotions more accurately in their native language. We examined developmental trajectories of universal vocal emotion recognition in children. Eighty native English speakers completed a vocal emotion recognition task in their native language (English) and foreign languages (Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic) expressing anger, happiness, sadness, fear, and neutrality. Emotion recognition was compared across 8-to-10, 11-to-13-year-olds, and adults. Measures of behavioural and emotional problems were also taken. Results showed that although emotion recognition was above chance for all languages, native English speaking children were more accurate in recognising vocal emotions in their native language. There was a larger improvement in recognising vocal emotion from the native language during adolescence. Vocal anger recognition did not improve with age for the non-native languages. This is the first study to demonstrate universality of vocal emotion recognition in children whilst supporting an “in-group advantage” for more accurate recognition in the native language. Findings highlight the role of experience in emotion recognition, have implications for child development in modern multicultural societies and address important theoretical questions about the nature of emotions

Effects of Correct and Wrong Answers on ERPs Recorded under Conditions of the Continuous Performance Test in ADHD/Normal Participants

Parameters of event-related potentials (ERPs) regarding correct and wrong answers under conditions of the continuous performance test (CPT) were measured in 50 adult subjects with the absence/presence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) and characterized by different levels of sustained attention. For ERP extraction, the average for each group of signals, which were time-locked to the onset of stimuli, was calculated; two ERP groups were considered separately for correct and wrong answers. In both groups, the P300 wave was clearly observed. The time dynamics of ERP components were investigated in six defined time blocks. At the peak of P300, a prominent component of brain activity could be observed. Some ERP morphological features (704 items) were extracted from these potentials. The results indicated that 11 of the obtained features had a significant (P<0.01) relation to the level of sustained attention. When comparing correct and wrong answers, 10 features in the normal group and 3 features in the ADHD group demonstrated significant differences (P < 0.05), which means that the participant’s response is reflected in the features of EEG signal. The results reveal a promising relation between CPT results and some parameters of brain signals, which can be used for further evaluations of the sustained attention level.Параметри пов’язаних з подією ЕЕГ-потенціалів (ППП) вимірювали у 50 дорослих тестованих з відсутністю (норма) та наявністю синдрому дефіциту уваги й гіперактивності (АDНD), котрі демонстрували різні градації рівня підтримуваної уваги. Враховували правильність і помилковість відповідей в умовах тесту безперервного виконання (continuous performance test, CPT). Щоб описати ППП, розраховували середні значення для кожної групи сигналів, «прив’язаних» до моменту пред’явлення стимулу. Було виділено дві окремі групи ППП, відповідно до вірних та помилкових відповідей. Хвиля Р300 була чітко представлена в обох групах ППП. Часова динаміка компонентів ППП була досліджена в межах шести ізольованих часових блоків. Пік Р300 віддзеркалював чітко виражений компонент церебральної активності. У складі ППП було виділено низку морфологічних особливостей (усього 704 риси). Виявилося, що 11 з таких рис вірогідно (P < 0.01) корелювали з рівнем постійної уваги. При порівнянні ППП, пов’язаних з вірними та хибними відповідями, істотні відмінності демонстрували 10 рис у групі норми та три риси в групі АDНD (P < 0.05). Це свідчить про те, що характер відповіді тестованого певним чином віддзеркалюється в патерні ЕЕГ-сигналу. Отримані дані вказують на наявність зв’язку між результатами СРТ і деякими параметрами ЕЕГ-сигналів. Це може бути використано для об’єктивної оцінки рівня підтримуваної уваги

Face recognition and visual search strategies in autism spectrum disorders: Amending and extending a recent review by Weigelt et al.

The purpose of this review was to build upon a recent review by Weigelt et al. which examined visual search strategies and face identification between individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing peers. Seven databases, CINAHL Plus, EMBASE, ERIC, Medline, Proquest, PsychInfo and PubMed were used to locate published scientific studies matching our inclusion criteria. A total of 28 articles not included in Weigelt et al. met criteria for inclusion into this systematic review. Of these 28 studies, 16 were available and met criteria at the time of the previous review, but were mistakenly excluded; and twelve were recently published. Weigelt et al. found quantitative, but not qualitative, differences in face identification in individuals with ASD. In contrast, the current systematic review found both qualitative and quantitative differences in face identification between individuals with and without ASD. There is a large inconsistency in findings across the eye tracking and neurobiological studies reviewed. Recommendations for future research in face recognition in ASD were discussed