0000000000188400
AUTHOR
Jari Tiihonen
Cognitive Insight, Clinical Insight, and Reasoning in Schizophrenia : A Pilot Study in a Forensic Setting
This pilot study of 20 chronically ill male inpatients with schizophrenia and a history of violence investigates the relationships between cognitive insight, clinical insight, reasoning, and symptoms in a forensic setting. The majority (75%) of the patients with schizophrenia made hasty decisions based on a small amount of information (the jumping-to-conclusion bias, JTC). In addition, the data suggested that the more information patients gather, the more clinical insight they have and the less distressed they are by their symptoms. However, neither cognitive nor clinical insight were found to be statistically significantly associated with symptoms. The Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS) s…
A Pilot Study of Group Administered Metacognitive Training (MCT) for Schizophrenia Patients in a High-Security Forensic Setting: Subjective Training Success and Health-Related Quality of Life
Metacognitive group training (MCT) for psychosis has showed promising effects on positive symptoms of schizophrenia, even in forensic settings. Its effect on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) or patient perspective of it has not been studied before in violent inpatients. This pilot study investigated the patient perspective of the MCT, assessed the intervention’s effects on HRQOL compared with the control group, and compared the patients’ HRQOL with that of the general population. Twenty male violent inpatients with schizophrenia participated and were randomized to the eight-session MCT or to treatment as usual. The participants’ HRQOL was assessed at baseline, at posttreatment, and 3 …
The collaborative outcomes study on health and functioning during infection times in adults (COH-FIT-Adults): Design and methods of an international online survey targeting physical and mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
BACKGROUND: . High-quality comprehensive data on short-/long-term physical/mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are needed. METHODS: . The Collaborative Outcomes study on Health and Functioning during Infection Times (COH-FIT) is an international, multi-language (n=30) project involving >230 investigators from 49 countries/territories/regions, endorsed by national/international professional associations. COH-FIT is a multi-wave, on-line anonymous, cross-sectional survey [wave 1: 04/2020 until the end of the pandemic, 12 months waves 2/3 starting 6/24 months threreafter] for adults, adolescents (14-17), and children (6-13), utilizing non-probability/snowball and representative samp…
The Association of Ambient Temperature and Violent Crime
It is controversial if global warming will result into increased crime and conflict rate, and no causal neurobiological mechanisms have been proposed for the putative association between ambient temperature and aggressive behavior. This study shows that during 1996–2013, ambient temperature explained 10% of variance in the violent crime rate in Finland, corresponding to a 1.7% increase/degree centigrade. Ambient temperature also correlated with a one month delay in circannual changes in peripheral serotonin transporter density among both offenders and healthy control subjects, which itself correlated strongly with the monthly violent crime rate. This suggests that rise in temperature modula…
Metacognitive group training for forensic and dangerous non-forensic patients with schizophrenia: A randomised controlled feasibility trial
BACKGROUND: In schizophrenia, the presence of certain cognitive biases has been established. Informed by this, metacognitive training (MCT) has been developed for schizophrenia. There is increasing evidence of its effectiveness with some patients, but its applicability to dangerous patients has not yet been demonstrated. AIMS: Our aim was to test the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of MCT for patients in a high-security hospital setting. METHODS: Twenty of 33 eligible and selected male in-patients with schizophrenia and a history of violence were randomised pairwise to eight sessions of MCT or treatment as usual. Symptom severity and reasoning, according to the jumping to…
Characterization of γ-aminobutyrate type A receptors with atypical coupling between agonist and convulsant binding sites in discrete brain regions
Abstract γ-Aminobutyric acid type A (GABA A ) receptor ionophore ligand t -[ 35 S]butylbicyclophosphorothionate ([ 35 S]TBPS) was used in an autoradiographic assay on brain cryostat sections to visualize and characterize atypical GABA-insensitive [ 35 S]TBPS binding previously described in certain recombinant GABA A receptors and the cerebellar granule cell layer. Picrotoxinin-sensitive but 1-mM GABA-insensitive [ 35 S]TBPS binding was present in the rat cerebellar granule cell layer, many thalamic nuclei, subiculum and the internal rim of the cerebral cortex, amounting in these regions up to 6% of the basal binding determined in the absence of exogenous GABA. Similar binding properties wer…
Physical and mental health impact of COVID-19 on children, adolescents, and their families: The Collaborative Outcomes study on Health and Functioning during Infection Times-Children and Adolescents (COH-FIT-C&A)
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has altered daily routines and family functioning, led to closing schools, and dramatically limited social interactions worldwide. Measuring its impact on mental health of vulnerable children and adolescents is crucial. METHODS: The Collaborative Outcomes study on Health and Functioning during Infection Times (COH-FIT - www.coh-fit.com) is an on-line anonymous survey, available in 30 languages, involving >230 investigators from 49 countries supported by national/international professional associations. COH-FIT has thee waves (until the pandemic is declared over by the WHO, and 6-18 months plus 24-36 months after its end). In addition to adults, COH-FIT also…