Meta-analyses are essential to summarize the results of the growing number of neuroimaging studies in psychiatry, neurology and allied disciplines. Image-based meta-analyses use full image information (i.e. the statistical parametric maps) and well-established statistics, but images are rarely available making them highly unfeasible. Peak-probability meta-analyses such as activation likelihood estimation (ALE) or multilevel kernel density analysis (MKDA) are more feasible as they only need reported peak coordinates. Signed-differences methods, such as signed differential mapping (SDM) build upon the positive features of existing peak-probability methods and enable meta-analyses of studies comparing patients with controls. In this paper we present a new version of SDM, named Effect Size SDM (ES-SDM), which enables the combination of statistical parametric maps and peak coordinates and uses well-established statistics. We validated the new method by comparing the results of an ES-SDM meta-analysis of studies on the brain response to fearful faces with the results of a pooled analysis of the original individual data. The results showed that ES-SDM is a valid and reliable coordinate-based method, whose performance might be additionally increased by including statistical parametric maps. We anticipate that ES-SDM will be a helpful tool for researchers in the fields of psychiatry, neurology and allied disciplines.

The purpose of this study is to assess the psychometric properties of a French version of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), a self-report measure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and to further validate the existing English version of the measure. Undergraduate students (n = 838 English, n = 262 French) completed the PCL-5 as well as other self-report symptom measures of PTSD and depression online. Both the English and French versions PCL-5 total scores demonstrated excellent internal consistency (English: α = .95; French: α = .94), and strong convergent and divergent validity. Strong internal consistency was also observed for each of the four subscales for each version (α’s > .79). Test-retest reliability for the French version of the measure was also very good (r = .89). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the four-factor DSM-5 model was not a good fit of the data. The seven-factor hybrid model best fit the data in each sample, but was only marginally superior to the six-factor anhedonia model. The French version of the PCL-5 demonstrated the same psychometric qualities as both the English version of the same measure and previous versions of the PCL. Thus clinicians serving French-speaking clients now have access to this highly used screening instrument. With regards to the structural validity of the PCL-5 and of the new PTSD diagnostic structure of the DSM-5, additional research is warranted. Replication of our results in clinical samples is much needed.

Some recent clinical and preclinical evidence suggests that neuroinflammation is a key factor that interacts with the three neurobiological correlates of major depressive disorder: depletion of brain serotonin, dysregulation of the hypothalamus-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis and alteration of the continuous production of adult-generated

Objectifs : La pandémie de la maladie à coronavirus (COVID-19) a provoqué une crise sanitaire majeure et mis en quarantaine la moitié de la population planétaire. En France, elle a provoqué une réorganisation en urgence de l'offre de soins mobilisant les soignants dans un climat d'incertitude. L'objectif du présent article est de faire le point sur les risques associés à l'exposition des soignants au COVID-19 pour leur santé mentale. Méthodes : Les auteurs ont conduit une revue de la littérature internationale tenant compte des données des précédentes épidémies (SARS-CoV-1, H1N1) et des données plus récentes concernant le COVID-19. Résultats : Les caractéristiques de cette pandémie (rapidité de diffusion, connaissances incertaines, sévérité, morts de soignants) ont installé un climat anxiogène. Des facteurs organisationnels peuvent être source de stress : déficit d'équipement de protection individuel, réaffectation de postes, manque de communication, manque de matériels de soins, bouleversement de la vie quotidienne familiale et sociale. D'autres facteurs de risque sont identifiés comme l'absence de soutien, la crainte de contaminer un proche, l'isolement ou la stigmatisation sociale, le haut niveau de stress au travail, ou les patterns d'attachement insécure. Les soignants ont ainsi un risque augmenté d'anxiété, de dépression, d'épuisement, d'addiction et de trouble de stress post-traumatique. Conclusions : Cette crise sanitaire devrait nous aider à mieux comprendre la vulnérabilité des soignants à la souffrance psychologique afin de renforcer les stratégies de prévention primaire et la formation aux enjeux psychologiques des soins, de la relation, et de la gestion des situations de crises sanitaires.

Cognitive deficits are well documented in psychiatric disorders, particularly in schizophrenia and depression. Cognitive activity roots in perceptions. However, research on sensorial alterations in psychiatric conditions has mainly focused on visual or auditory processes and less on olfaction. Here, we examine data on olfactory deficits in psychiatric patients using a systematic review of recent publications. Schizophrenic patients are mainly characterized by no reliable change in odour sensitivity and by a deficit in odour identification, recognition and discrimination. Depressed patients principally exhibit a deficit in the hedonic aspects of this perception, even if, in some case, alterations in sensitivity or identification are also found. Changes in odour perception are also found in dementia and in some neurodegenerative disease, but in this case alterations concern all aspects of the sensorial experience (detection threshold, identification and recognition). Taken together, these data indicate that olfactory abnormalities might be a marker of psychiatric conditions, with a specific pattern for each disease.

Perception of fearful faces is associated with functional activation of cortico-limbic structures, which has been found altered in individuals with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, autism and major depression. The objective of this study was to isolate the brain response to the features of standardized fearful faces by incorporating principal component analysis (PCA) into the analysis of neuroimaging data of healthy volunteers and individuals with schizophrenia. At the first stage, the visual characteristics of morphed fearful facial expressions (FEEST, Young et al., 2002) were classified with PCA, which produced seven orthogonal factors, with some of them related to emotionally salient facial features (eyes, mouth, brows) and others reflecting non-salient facial features. Subsequently, these PCA-based factors were included into the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analysis of 63 healthy volunteers and 32 individuals with schizophrenia performing a task that involved implicit processing of FEEST stimuli. In healthy volunteers, significant neural response was found to visual characteristics of eyes, mouth or brows. In individuals with schizophrenia, PCA-based analysis enabled us to identify several significant clusters of activation that were not detected by the standard approach. These clusters were implicated in processing of visual and emotional information and were attributable to the perception of eyes and brows. PCA-based analysis could be useful in isolating brain response to salient facial features in psychiatric populations.

Depressed patients showed inability to inhibit neutral information access to working memory, restrain and delete irrelevant information. This impairment in cognitive inhibition could underlie cognitive slowness and attentional deficits in depression.

SummaryObjective: Studies from a small number of countries suggest that patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) have limited access to diagnostic and treatment services. The PNES Task Force of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) carried out 2 surveys to explore the diagnosis and treatment of PNES around the world. Methods: A short survey (8 questions) was sent to all 114 chapters of the ILAE.A longer survey (36 questions) was completed by healthcare professionals who see patients with seizures. Questions were separated into 5 sections: professional role, diagnostic methods, management, etiology, and access to health care. Results: Responses were received from 63 different countries. The short survey was completed by 48 ILAE chapters, and the long survey by 1098 health professionals from 28 countries. PNES were recognized as a diagnostic and therapeutic problem in all countries. Trauma and mental health issues were most commonly recognized as etiologic factors. There was a clear relationship between income and access to diagnostic tests and expertise. Psychological therapy was most commonly considered the treatment of choice. Although financial difficulties were the most commonly reported problem with service access in low-income countries, in