In neuropsychological studies of executive functioning in domestic violence offenders, the different investigations conducted have only studied differences within this group or in relation to control groups of non-offenders. To minimize the limitations in relation to comparison groups, the purpose of this study was to compare executive functioning in domestic violence offenders in relation to different groups of offenders (i.e. sexual, violent and non-violent) and a control group of non-offenders, with all groups matched on socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. Executive functioning was tested of all participants with the Trail Making Test (direct and derived scores). Compared with the control group, the domestic violence offenders and sex offenders exhibited the poorest performance on the Trail Making Test part B (time) and on the B-A derived index; whereas, the violent offenders group (i.e. convicted of assault, wounding, homicide etc.) showed a high number of errors in part B. These findings suggest that domestic violence offenders exhibit similar performance on the TMT as sex offenders, where both have poorer cognitive flexibility and executive control. Other violent offenders exhibited different patterns of difficulty on this test (e.g. more impulsivity responses). Executive functioning may be a central psychological process that could help explain the interrelations between domestic and sexual aggression, and could be a relevant construct for common treatment of domestic batterers and sex offenders.
Background.
The implications of cannabis use in the onset of early psychosis and the severity of psychotic symptoms have resulted in a proliferation of studies on this issue. However, few have examined the effects of cannabis use on the cognitive symptoms of psychosis (i.e., neurocognitive functioning) in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP). This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to assess the neurocognitive functioning of cannabis users (CU) and nonusers (NU) with FEP.
Methods.
Of the 110 studies identified through the systematic review of 6 databases, 7 met the inclusion criteria, resulting in 14 independent samples and 78 effect sizes. The total sample included 304 CU with FEP and 369 NU with FEP. The moderator variables were age at first use, duration of use, percentage of males, and age.
Results.
Effect sizes were not significantly different from zero in any neurocognitive domain when users and NU were compared. Part of the variability in effect sizes was explained by the inclusion of the following moderator variables: (1) frequency of cannabis use (β = 0.013, F = 7.56, p = 0.017); (2) first-generation antipsychotics (β = 0.019, F = 34.46, p ≤ 0.001); and (3) country where the study was carried out (β = 0.266, t = 2.06, p = 0.043).
Conclusions.
This meta-analysis indicates that cannabis use is not generally associated with neurocognitive functioning in patients with FEP. However, it highlights the deleterious effect of low doses of cannabis in some patients. It also stresses the importance of the type of antipsychotic prescription and cannabis dose as moderator variables in the neurocognitive functioning of CU with FEP.
The first objective was to investigate the behavioural activity in the systems of Gray's theory; these are the Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) and Behavioural Approach System (BAS), in fibromyalgia (FM) patients. The second aim was to assess in FM patients whether there is an association between BIS or BAS with self-reported somatic symptoms. Twenty FM patients and 20 healthy controls completed questionnaire measures of BIS and BAS activity (Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire), self-reported somatic symptoms (Somatic Symptoms Scale Revised), positive and negative affect (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule) and health status (EuroQoL Visual Analogue Scale). The results showed that FM patients had lower Sensitivity to Reward (SR) scores than controls. The SR score correlated with different somatic symptoms groups. The partial correlation (controlling for other variables measured) showed that the SR score correlated specifically with musculoskeletal symptoms. Furthermore, in regression analysis, SR score significantly predicted musculoskeletal symptoms, after controlling for other variables measured in this study. Our findings suggest that FM patients show BAS hypoactivity. This BAS activity in FM is similar to patients with depression, where a lower BAS functioning has also been found. The BAS activity predicts the musculoskeletal self-reported symptoms in FM better than other measures included in this study. Although this is a preliminary study, it suggests the importance of BAS activity in FM.
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