To examine cold (based on logical reasoning) versus hot (having emotional components) executive function processes in groups with high individual schizotypal traits.

Two-hundred and forty-seven participants were administered the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire and were allocated into schizotypal (cognitive-perceptual, paranoid, negative, disorganized) or control groups according to pre-specified criteria. Participants were also administered a battery of tasks examining working memory, complex selective attention, response inhibition, decision-making and fluid intelligence and their affective counterparts. The outcome measures of each task were reduced to one composite variable thus formulating five cold and five hot cognitive domains. Between-group differences in the cognitive domains were examined with repeated measures analyses of covariance.

For working memory, the control and the cognitive-perceptual groups outperformed negative schizotypes, while for affective working memory controls outperformed the disorganized group. Controls also scored higher compared with the disorganized group in complex selective attention, while both the control and the cognitive-perceptual groups outperformed negative schizotypes in complex affective selective attention. Negative schizotypes also had striking difficulties in response inhibition, as they scored lower compared with all other groups. Despite the lack of differences in fluid intelligence, controls scored higher compared with all schizotypal groups (except from cognitive-perceptual schizotypes) in emotional intelligence; the latter group reported higher emotional intelligence compared with negative schizotypes.

Results indicate that there is no categorical association between the different schizotypal dimensions with solely cold or hot executive function processes and support impoverished emotional intelligence as a core feature of schizotypy.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a mental illness marked by extreme swings in the mood, energy, and thinking. Although it’s not an official symptom of the disease, some research suggests that it also may affect the empathy.

To investigate empathic responding in patients with BD in euthymic state of illness and to determine associated factors.

A cross-sectional and descriptive study of 78 patients followed for bipolar disorder, during euthymia, at the psychiatric outpatient clinic at CHU Hédi Chaker in Sfax. We used a socio-demographic and clinical data sheet and the Questionnaire of Cognitive And Affective Empathy (QCAE) to assess empathy with its two dimensions : “Affective empathy” and “Cognitive empathy”.

The average age was 36.27 years, the sex ratio was 5.5. Bipolar I disorder was diagnosed in 88.5% of patients. The mean age of onset was 27.73 years, and the mean duration of illness was 8.4 years. 78.2% of patients had a good adherence to treatment. 60.3% of them had residual depressive symptoms during eutymia. QCAE total score was 72.49. (Maximum possible score 124) Cognitive empathy score was 43.21. (Maximum possible score 76) Affective empathy score was 29.36. (Maximum possible score 48) Affective empathy was associated with female gender (p=0), good adherence to treatment (p=0.01) and residual depressive symptoms (p=0.001).

Our study shows that bipolar patients have fairly good levels of empathy. However, in order to better substantiate empathy in BD, comparative studies seem necessary.

No significant relationships.

To examine the predictive diagnostic value of affective symptomatology in a first-episode psychosis (FEP) sample with 5 years’ follow-up.

Affective dimensions (depressive, manic, activation, dysphoric) were measured at baseline and 5 years in 112 FEP patients based on a factor structure analysis using the Young Mania Rating Scale and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Patients were classified as having a diagnosis of bipolar disorder at baseline (BDi), bipolar disorder at 5 years (BDf), or “other psychosis”. The ability of affective dimensions to discriminate between these diagnostic groups and to predict a bipolar disorder diagnosis was analysed.

Manic dimension score was higher in BDi vs. BDf, and both groups had higher manic and activation scores vs. “other psychosis”. Activation dimension predicted a bipolar diagnosis at 5 years (odds ratio = 1.383; 95% confidence interval, 1.205–1.587; P = 0.000), and showed high levels of sensitivity (86.2%), specificity (71.7%), positive (57.8%) and negative predictive value (90.5%). Absence of the manic dimension and presence of the depressive dimension were both significant predictors of an early misdiagnosis.

The activation dimension is a diagnostic predictor for bipolar disorder in FEP. The manic dimension contributes to a bipolar diagnosis and its absence can lead to early misdiagnosis.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a multifactorial syndrome with significant interactions between genetic and environmental factors. This study specifically investigates the association between family history of alcohol problems (FHAP) and family history of depression (FHD), and how these relate to different clusters of depressive symptoms.

Correlations between FHAP and FHD and different clusters of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were studied. We sampled 333 employees from a general hospital who had been receiving a psychiatric consultation between 2005 and 2012. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) models were conducted to explore these correlations.

There was a significant positive correlation between FHAP and BDI affective score. This result remained significant even after the adjustment for other variables considered as important factors for MDD, such as gender, age, marital status, education, ethnic group and FHD. More specifically, FHAP was correlated with dissatisfaction and episodes of crying among the affective symptoms. FHAP showed no statistical difference in any of the other clusters score or in the BDI total score. Moreover, as expected, we found a correlation between FHD and BDI total score and Somatic and Cognitive clusters.

FHAP should be routinely investigated in individuals presenting with depressive symptoms. This is especially important in cases presenting with dissatisfaction and episodes of crying in patients who do not endorse criteria for MDD. Due to study limitations, the findings require replication by neurobiological, epidemiological and clinical studies.

Prenatal maternal obesity has been linked to adverse childhood neuropsychiatric outcomes, including increased symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), internalizing and externalizing problems, affective disorders and neurodevelopmental problems but few studies have studied neuropsychiatric outcomes among offspring born to very severely obese women or assessed potential familial confounding by maternal psychological distress.

We evaluated neuropsychiatric symptoms in 112 children aged 3–5 years whose mothers had participated in a longitudinal study of obesity in pregnancy (50 very severe obesity, BMI ⩾40 kg/m2, obese class III and 62 lean, BMI 18.5–25 kg/m2). The mothers completed the Conners’ Hyperactivity Scale, Early Symptomatic Syndrome Eliciting Neurodevelopmental Clinical Examination Questionnaire (ESSENCE-Q), Child's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to assess child neuropsychiatric symptoms. Covariates included child's sex, age, birthweight, gestational age, socioeconomic deprivation levels, maternal age, parity, smoking status during pregnancy, gestational diabetes and maternal concurrent symptoms of anxiety and depression assessed using State Anxiety of Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Index (STAI) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), respectively.

Children exposed to prenatal maternal very severe obesity had significantly higher scores in the Conners’ Hyperactivity Scale; ESSENCE-Q; total sleep problems in CSHQ; hyperactivity, conduct problems and total difficulties scales of the SDQ; higher externalizing and total problems, anxious/depressed, aggressive behaviour and other problem syndrome scores and higher DSM-oriented affective, anxiety and ADHD problems in CBCL. Prenatal maternal very severe obesity remained a significant predictor of child neuropsychiatric problems across multiple scales independent of demographic factors, prenatal factors and maternal concurrent symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Prenatal maternal very severe obesity is a strong predictor of increased neuropsychiatric problems in early childhood.