Second-generation antipsychotics (SGA) are thought to have a more favorable impact on neurocognitive functions with respect to first-generation antipsychotics (FGAs). Event-related potentials (ERPs) represent valuable tools in the assessment of cognitive effects of psychotropic drugs; however, few ERP studies investigated antipsychotic drug effects on neurocognition in human subjects.

The present ERP, double-blind, cross-over study was carried out in 12 male healthy subjects to investigate the effects of a single oral dose of haloperidol, placebo or risperidone on effortful and automatic allocation of attentional resources to auditory stimuli.

ERPs were recorded from 30 unipolar leads (0.5-70 Hz bandpass, 256 Hz sampling rate), during a three-tone oddball task in which target, standard and rare-nontarget tones were randomly presented. Subjects had to press a button when hearing a target tone, while ignoring both standard and rare-nontarget stimuli.

P3 for target (P3b) and rare-nontarget stimuli (P3a) were identified at Cz and Pz leads. Amplitude maps at peak latency were then compared across conditions. If a significant drug effect was obtained, changes in the cortical sources of P3 were analyzed using Low-Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA).

No change was observed for P3b. P3a amplitude was increased by risperidone, at midline and right centro-parietal regions, but not by haloperidol. No change was observed in P3a cortical generators.

P3a, an index of the automatic allocation of attentional resources, is increased only by risperidone, suggesting a favorable effect of this SGA on orienting processes.

Can male opiate addicts be prompted (with feedback, punishment or task practice) to switch decision making strategies in a task which initially encourages poor choices, and requires non-myopic behaviour. Sample: 60 males, >1 year heroin addiction, currently receiving stable substitute medication (no opiate use for 2 weeks minimum).

Data collection is underway and will be completed within 3 months. Current trend in collected data suggests that punishment prompts learning of optimum decision making strategies in addicts. Findings will be available by March 2007.

Sexual violence is considered today as an important social problem touching especially women and children.

We carried out a retrospective study in an association of assistance of women and children victims of sexual aggression on a sample of 96 women between 2006 and 2007, we have use a structured questionnaire,specifying socio-demographic characteristics of both sex offenders and victims, the nature and circumstances of aggression, the description of sexual hurts, the physical and psychical impact, and finally medical and psychiatric taking care on victims.

Victims were aged 17-58 ans (mean age 28,31 years), 61,5% were married, 75% did not have a job, almost the half of the women was without level of instruction (49%), they were sexually agressed in 91,7%, sexualy harassed in 9,4%. Several sexual attacks were objectified at the victim's in 78,1%. Sex offenders were aged 21-60 ans (mean age 35,48 years),they were the husbands in 55,2%. The sexual violence was accompanied with physical violence in 87,5%. No sexual hurt was objectivized in 63,5%. Two thirds of the victims consulted at a doctor's (67,7%), The gynecologists and the general practitioners were the first consulted doctors (32,3% et 31,3%). Depression was diagnosed in12,5%. The victims divorced further to sexual violence in 38,5%. The victims benefited from a psychiatric treatment in 19,8%. The majority of the victims lodged a complaint against their aggressors (84,4%).

sexual violence is reported frequently recently in Morocco, developing preventive programs against this phenomenon is required.

To examine whether the postpartum depression (PPD) subgroup with positive antithyroid antibodies (Ab+) compared with the PPD subgroup without positive presence of Ab (Ab -) have a different psycho-social and psychopathological characteristics.

One hundred three (N=103) patients with PPD according with DSM-IV criteria were included. Autoimmune status of the thyroid (Thyroperoxidasa antibodies, Thyroglobulin antibodies), severity of depression and anxiety (EPDS and 21-item Hamilton and STAI-S scales), psychosocial variables (Early Trauma Inventory, Saint Paul Ramsey Questionnaire, Marital Adjustment Test) were assessed joint with other several demographics and reproductive variables.

The presence of childhood sexual abuse in PPD women increase the probability of Ab(+) (OR= 2,528 ; 95% CI =1,00-6,39). The levels of Thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb) titers have a strongly correlation (p<0,000) with the levels of the Early Trauma Inventory.

The results of our study give a link between early stress, the immune system, and postpartum depression.The implication of the immunitary system in the etiopathogenesis of the PPD through the long lasting sensitization of the inflammatory response system and the endocrine system in front to stress behind the CNS and their transmisors and receptors activation is discussed.

Burnout is a syndrome characterized by emotional exhaustion, physical fatigue, and mental weariness as a consequence of chronic stress. Chronic stress is known to affect HPA-axis. Studies on HPA-axis functioning in burnout have produced inconsistent results. BDNF is one of the trophic factors involved in the regulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis and is believed to decrease as a consequence of chronic stress mediated by hyperactivation of the HPA-axis. The aetiological relationship between the serum level of BDNF and burnout has not yet been studied.

37 clinically diagnosed burnout participants were compared with 35 healthy controls. Basal serum cortisol, sBDNF, and cortisol level after 1mg dexamethasone suppression test were sampled.

We found no significant differences in terms of HPA-axis functioning, but we did find significantly lower levels of sBDNF compared between burnout participants and controls (p=0.005). sBDNF levels correlated significantly with scores of three dimensions of Maslach Burnout Inventory. HPA-axis function and sBDNF were not affected by the presence of a current psychiatric disorder. Depression, depersonalization and competence scores were found to be the most important predicting variables of burnout.

Our results suggest that there was no dysregulation in the HPA-axis of burnout participants. However, BDNF and hippocampal neurogenesis seem to be important in the aetiology of burnout. Though BDNF is a novel way to investigate the possible aetiology of burnout, further research concerning the role of BDNF in the neurobiology of burnout is needed.

Mental conditions of deprivation genesis in this cohort of deprivated children play an essential role in formation of their social-psychological maladjustment.

The design of the present research included studying of 116 children of the migrants families The economic difficulty, uncertainty of the future life provoked development of a stable interfamily relations. Children got in a situation of unexpected deprivation of habitual conditions, that had a negative effect on dynamics and quality of their adaptation. With the help of the statistical methods, allowing to specify character, depth and weight of deprivating conditions, results of polydisciplinary research have been processed.

Deprivated conditions were characterized by a continuum of displays and have been submitted: 1) deprivated reactions, as short-term mental conditions; 2) actually deprivated conditions, and 3) deprivated developments, as long-term mental conditions or processes. Types of school maladjustment, reflecting both level of mental development and formed personal features which were under influence of deprivating conditions looked as follows: 1) with the prevalence of behaviour disorders (at 42,3% of children); 2) with mainly emotional disorders (at 46,4% of children); 3) with difficulties in intellectual functioning (at 11,3% of children).

The continuum of maladjustment displays settled down between a prepathology and dysfunctional condition. Attempt to systematize a level of social functioning disorders assumed an estimation of their quantitative characteristics which identification with deprived conditions changes has allowed to allocate the easy, moderate and severe degree of maladjustment.

Expectations of individual regarding self-esteem and personal competency are mediators of behavior. Traumatic experience can effect and modify both self-esteem and perceived competency and in that way determine individual behavior.

of this study is to assess impact of intensity of traumatic experience on level of self-esteem and perceived competency of individual.

In this research two groups of participants were included. Group G1 consisted from 21 individuals, clients of Center for victims of torture, who survived different highly stressful traumatic experiences including torture. Group G2 consisted from 21 individuals who survived different traumatic experiences without being tortured. For this research 4 psychological instruments were used: Socio-demographic questionnaire, List of stressful life events, Rosenberg Self- Esteem Scale and Rosenberg Perceived Competency scale. In this research T- test method of statistical analysis was used.

According to List of stressful life events participants from group G1 were highly traumatized comparing with group G2 who showed lower level of traumatization.(p<0,01) On perceived competency scale and self- esteem scale group G1(highly traumatized) showed lower scores comparing with group G2 (less traumatized). (p<0,01).

Higher level of exposure and higher intensity of traumatic experiences is leading to decreased perception of self competency and lower self- esteem within survivors.

Appropriate responsiveness to everyday-life stressors is crucial for adequate functioning in a natural environment. Conversely, depending on individual's genetic makeup, prolonged stress, coupled with inappropriate responsiveness may lead to physiological and psychiatric disorders. Various psychiatric conditions have been associated with stress and alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity. Yet while stress is a general phenomenon, illness is only seen in a proportion of individuals, suggesting genetic modifiers of ability to cope with stress. In children, relatively little research has been conducted to estimate the impact of genetic factors on the variability in HPA axis functioning.

In the present explorative investigation, 106 prepubertal children were studied to estimate the impact of four glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) polymorphisms (NR3C1-1, ER22/23EK, N363S, N766N) and five arginine vasopressin (AVP) receptor 1b gene (AVPR1b) polymorphisms (AVPR1b_s1, AVPR1b_s2, AVPR1b_s3, AVPR1b_s4, AVPR1b_s5) on cortisol responses after a psychosocial stress test (public speaking task).

ER22/23EK carriers displayed significant lower cortisol responses to psychosocial stress compared to noncarriers. This particular polymorphism has earlier been associated to the vulnerability to develop MDD by our own research group (1) and independently by another publication (2).

These findings support the relevance of the ER22/23EK polymorphism in HPA axis regulation and in the vulnerability for psychiatric disorders.

1. 1. van West D et al, Neuropsychopharmacology 31: 620-627, 2006.

2. 2. Van Rossum EFC et al., Biol Psychiatry 59: 681-688, 2006.

Physical and mental health has been found to be affected by occupational factors that cause psychological strain. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the Prevalence of risk for mental disorders among paramedical students at the Fatemeh nursing &Midwifery college in Iran.

The studied population included 184 paramedical students from First year and fourth year of education. Self-administered questionnaires were used to solicit demographic information and Psychological ill health was measured using a standard instrument—the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 28). In this study a cut-off point of 23 was used for prevalence estimations. By this scoring, if the total score was 23 or less (from84) then the person was regarded healthy. The higher the GHQ-28 scores indicated the subject might suffer from a psychiatric distress.

The majority of the respondents (68.5%) were between the ages of 20-24 years and 80.8 % were female.47.3 percent of paramedical students had GHQ scores of 24 and above, indicating an increased likelihood of psychological disorder. The average score was 25.93 +/-14.93.Depression has the lowest mean score (3.92+/-7.2), while social dysfunction has the highest mean score (8.12+/-3.97) among the subscales. GHQ scores between the dissatisfied and satisfied groups were statistically significant (P = 0.001).

This study suggests that paramedical students have high levels of stress, so counseling and other support services should be made available to them.

Physical and mental health has been found to be affected by occupational factors that cause psychological strain. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the Prevalence of risk for mental disorders among paramedical students at the Fatemeh nursing &Midwifery college in Iran.

The studied population included 184 paramedical students from First year and fourth year of education. Self-administered questionnaires were used to solicit demographic information and Psychological ill health was measured using a standard instrument—the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 28). In this study a cut-off point of 23 was used for prevalence estimations. By this scoring, if the total score was 23 or less (from84) then the person was regarded healthy. The higher the GHQ-28 scores indicated the subject might suffer from a psychiatric distress.

The majority of the respondents (68.5%) were between the ages of 20-24 years and 80.8 % were female.47.3 percent of paramedical students had GHQ scores of 24 and above, indicating an increased likelihood of psychological disorder. The average score was 25.93 +/-14.93.Depression has the lowest mean score (3.92+/-7.2), while social dysfunction has the highest mean score (8.12+/-3.97) among the subscales. GHQ scores between the dissatisfied and satisfied groups were statistically significant (P = 0.001).

This study suggests that paramedical students have high levels of stress, so counseling and other support services should be made available to them.

To determine whether the change in working conditions related to the privatisation of Primary Health Care increased stress among GPs and to obtain insight into the most prominent stressors.

Two questionnaires (the Holmes and Rache social readjustment questionnaire and a special test for investigating stressors derivered by the “emic” method) were used. SUBJECTS: 120 GPs with private practices (response rate of 75%) and 90 hospital doctors (response rate 92%).

2/3 of participants in both subgroups were females. In both subgroups, around 1/2 of participants were up to 45 years old. Significant findings were that 30.3% of GPs reported progress having been made regarding their working place and finances, 78.8% reported that their work responsibilities had increased and 57.6% reported that they had changed their working hours and work conditions. 24.2% of GP s reported a reduction in the time spent with their families, 6.1% stated that their children had altered their behaviour in a negative manner, 26.3% of GPs stated that their partners had altered their behaviour for the better and only 16.2% took time off for sickness in the last three years. The most common stressors found were disruption to family life due to consultation with patients after working hours (46.9% cases) and feeling overloaded with new administrative commitments (68.4% cases).

Privatisation of PHC produced stress among GPs without severe negative consequences to the private lives and health of GPs.