Monica Sigaudo

The aim of the present study was to further investigate the electroencephalogram (EEG) connectivity in schizophrenic patients by means of mutual information (MI), an analysis capable of detecting both the linear and nonlinear components of EEG. 19-lead EEGs were recorded in stable schizophrenic patients (N=17) and healthy controls (N=17) in two different conditions: closed eyes (CE) and open eyes (OE). In patients, higher MI values were observed in temporal-parietal-occipital regions compared with controls. In controls, an increase in brain connectivity in frontal regions was observed in the CE condition. This increase was not present in patients. Our results suggest that patients with schizophrenia present changes of brain connectivity that can be detected through MI analysis.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relation between coping styles, and both clinical and functional variables in a sample of patients with stable schizophrenia. Forty-seven consecutive outpatients were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. A clinical assessment was performed and included: the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS), the Scale for the Assessment of Unawareness of Mental Disorder (SUMD), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Quality of Life Scale (QLS) and the questionnaire Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36). Coping strategies were assessed with the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS), identifying three main coping styles: task-, emotion- and avoidance-oriented. Three different multiple regression models with backward elimination were performed in order to discover contributing factors to coping styles. From the results of multiple regression, depressive symptoms and objective qua...

Cluster analysis based on Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropsychiatric profile demonstrated validity on caregiver burden, nursing-home placement and survival. The aims of our study were to explore the validity of this approach on caregiver burden, lack of insight and cognitive impairment and to examine the impact of neuropsychiatric profiles on these variables. A data-driven approach (two-step cluster analysis) identified groups of patients based on similarities of their neuropsychiatric symptom profile, as assessed by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). ANOVAs and chi(2) tests were used to compare groups with regard to continuous and categorical variables. Linear regressions tested the relationships between NPI and clinical variables. Psychotic/behavioral, depressive and minimally symptomatic clusters differed for caregiver burden and lack of insight. Patients in the minimally symptomatic cluster showed better insight than those in the depressive cluster. Caregivers of the psychotic/behavioral cluster experienced the highest burden. We found positive relationships between NPI and lack of insight in the depressive and minimally symptomatic clusters and between NPI and caregiver burden in all three clusters. Caregiver burden was influenced by the type of symptoms. The cluster analysis was valid for lack of insight and caregiver burden. Symptoms predominant on caregiver burden could become targets for therapy.

This study evaluated the relationship among insight, sociodemographic and clinical variables, symptoms and cognitive functions in a population of outpatients with stable schizophrenia, in order to identify possible contributing factors to awareness. Two-hundred and seventy-six consecutive outpatients with stable schizophrenia were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. All subjects were assessed by psychiatric scales and interview, and a wide neuropsychological battery. A factor analysis was performed to identify cognitive factors and multiple regression analyses were executed to test the contribution of variables considered to insight. Our results showed that positive and negative symptoms, executive functions, verbal memory-learning were contributors of awareness of mental illness; positive and negative symptoms explained variability in awareness of the need for treatment; positive symptoms and executive functions contributed to awareness of the social consequences of disorder. These results suggested that insight was partially influenced by positive and negative symptoms and by cognitive functions. A complex system of overlapping variables may underlie impaired insight, contributing to a different extent to specific dimensions of poor insight in patients with stable schizophrenia.