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Aim Based on the concept of successful ageing and research reports on the benefits of maintaining sexual activity in mid‐ to late life, the purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between global life satisfaction and sexual satisfaction in adults older than 60 years. The study also analyzed the relationship between various forms of sexual activity (genital and non‐genital) and both types of satisfaction. Methods Thirty‐three men and 50 women (N =83) were interviewed by using two structuralized questionnaires. Global life satisfaction was measured with Diener's Satisfaction with Life Scale, whereas sexual satisfaction and preferences regarding various intimate behaviours (i.e. kissing, cuddling, touching partner's intimate body parts, penetration, and masturbation) were assessed with a questionnaire devised for the purpose of the study. Statistical analyses were conducted to verify the relationships among the variables, group differences, and the statistical significance of sexual satisfaction as a predictor of global life satisfaction. Results Most of the interviewed subjects have had engaged in sexual activity in the last 1–6 months before the study (60%). Participants declared that they mostly engage in subtle forms of sexual activity rather than having intercourse. The level of sexual activity of older adults was positively associated with both sexual and global life satisfaction, but different forms of intimacy had a different impact on satisfaction. Gender was not correlated with the level of sexual and global life satisfaction. Conclusions Sexual satisfaction was a good predictor of global life satisfaction in older adults in our study. The participants appeared less concerned with the frequency of their intimate activities and more with engaging in the type of behaviour they were able to enjoy, which shows that they were adapting to the ageing process and potential health issues.

Social distancing has limited the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), but also changed communication patterns. However, studies of how mental health in older adults relates to the usage of different modes of interpersonal communication are sparse. The aim of this study was to analyze how COVID-19-related changes in the frequencies of using different modes of communication (digital or in-person) have influenced mental health in older adults from 27 countries. Our study was based on part of Wave 8 of the SHARE data set, which focused on the living situation of older adults during the pandemic. Findings suggest that in-person communication benefited mental health in people aged ≥60 years more than digital communication. The older the person, the less beneficial digital communication was for their mental health, especially during interactions with their children. Our findings are useful for researchers and practitioners interested in technologically meditated interventions.

Schizophrenia is a chronic disease with a relatively high relapse rate. Different methods are introduced to improve compliance of the patients treated by psychiatrists; among them, a new and promising attitude is telepsychiatry. The 12-month clinical study of the compliance in paranoid schizophrenia was performed on the group of 199 patients. Every patient in the study was given a smartphone with the preinstalled original telemedicine platform (Telemedicine MoneoPlatform). The telemedicine system recorded every confirmation of the drug intake, and according to that, the compliance was counted as the percent of the doses of medication confirmed in relation to the planned ones. In the first month of the study, patients confirmed only 47.6% of the doses as taken. When analyzed in the total group, the compliance significantly decreased over the 12-month period (p < 0.001). The compliance observed in our study is lower in comparison with short-term studies, but to our knowledge, this project is the biggest long-term study of the treatment compliance in schizophrenia, performed on a large number of patients, and a possible conclusion is that the adherence in longer lasting project depends highly on the engagement of both patients and psychiatrists.

Background: Cognitive impairment is associated with long-term disability that results in the deterioration of both the social and professional status of individuals with schizophrenia. The impact of antipsychotic therapy on cognitive function is insufficient. Cognitive training is therefore proposed as a tool for cognitive rehabilitation in schizophrenia. In this study we investigated the effect of self-administered cognitive training using a smartphone-based application on the cognitive function of paranoid schizophrenia patients focusing on response time, correct answer rate, incorrect answer rate, and fatigability to check, if these functions can be functional markers of successful cognitive-smartphone rehabilitation. Methods: 1-year multicenter, open-label randomized study was conducted on 290 patients in a state of symptomatic remission. 191 patients were equipped with the full version of the application and conducted cognitive training twice a week. Reference group (n = 99) was provided with a version of the application having only limited functionality, testing the cognitive performance of patients every 6 months. Results: Statistically significant improvement was observed in both the rate of correct answers (by 4.8%, p = 0.0001), and cognitive fatigability (by 2.9%, p = 0.0001) in the study group, along with a slight improvement in the rate of incorrect answers (by 0.9%, p = 0.15). In contrast, the reference group, who performed cognitive training every 6 months, demonstrated no significant changes in any cognitive activities. Conclusions: Cognitive trainings facilitated by a smartphone-based application, performed regularly for a longer period of time are feasible and may have the potential to improve the cognitive functioning of individuals with schizophrenia. Correct answers and cognitive fatigability have potential to be functional markers of successful smartphone-based psychiatric rehabilitations in schizophrenia patients.

The R-W test is a tool examining the speed and accuracy of thinking used in labor psychology. It is described as a tool „filled with the intellectual component”, however, there is no validation data in the literature confirming that the R-W test exam some aspect of intellectual abilities. To fill this gap, validation studies were conducted. In the first one, conducted on a group of drivers (N=105), the R-W test relationship with the complex reaction time, attention, as well as the participants level of education were revealed. In study 2 conducted on a group of students (N=150) the relationship between the R-W test and fluid intelligence, perceptivity and attention, as well as anxiety as a trait and as a state were revealed. The obtained results confirm our assumptions that performing the R-W test requires the use of fluid intelligence resources. Key words: labor psychology, transportation psychology, intelligence, screening tests

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Membrane phospholipase D (PLD) is associated with numerous neuronal functions, such as axonal growth, synaptogenesis, formation of secretory vesicles, neurodegeneration, and apoptosis. PLD acts mainly on phosphatidylcholine, from which phosphatidic acid (PA) and choline are formed. In turn, PA is a key element of the PLD-dependent secondary messenger system. Changes in PLD activity are associated with the mechanism of action of olanzapine, an atypical antipsychotic. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of short-term administration of the first-generation antipsychotic drugs haloperidol, chlorpromazine, and fluphenazine on membrane PLD activity in the rat brain. Animals were sacrificed for a time equal to the half-life of the antipsychotic drug in the brain, then the membranes in which PLD activity was determined were isolated from the tissue. The results indicate that only haloperidol in a higher dose increases the activity of phospholipase D. Such a mechanism of action of haloperidol has not been described previously. Induction of PLD activity by haloperidol may be related to its mechanism of cytotoxicity. The finding could justify the use of PLD inhibitors as protective drugs against the cytotoxicity of first-generation antipsychotic drugs like haloperidol.