To determine whether poorer performance on the Boston Naming Test (BNT) in individuals with transactive response DNA-binding protein 43 pathology (TDP-43+) is due to greater loss of word knowledge compared to retrieval-based deficits.

Retrospective clinical-pathologic study of 282 participants with Alzheimer’s disease neuropathologic changes (ADNC) and known TDP-43 status. We evaluated item-level performance on the 60-item BNT for first and last available assessment. We fit cross-sectional negative binomial count models that assessed total number of incorrect items, number correct of responses with phonemic cue (reflecting retrieval difficulties), and number of “I don’t know” (IDK) responses (suggestive of loss of word knowledge) at both assessments. Models included TDP-43 status and adjusted for sex, age, education, years from test to death, and ADNC severity. Models that evaluated the last assessment adjusted for number of prior BNT exposures.

43% were TDP-43+. The TDP-43+ group had worse performance on BNT total score at first (p = .01) and last assessments (p = .01). At first assessment, TDP-43+ individuals had an estimated 29% (CI: 7%–56%) higher mean number of incorrect items after adjusting for covariates, and a 51% (CI: 15%–98%) higher number of IDK responses compared to TDP-43−. At last assessment, compared to TDP-43−, the TDP-43+ group on average missed 31% (CI: 6%–62%; p = .01) more items and had 33% more IDK responses (CI: 1% fewer to 78% more; p = .06).

An important component of poorer performance on the BNT in participants who are TDP-43+ is having loss of word knowledge versus retrieval difficulties.

Typical evaluations of adult ADHD consist of behavior self-report rating scales, cognitive or intellectual functioning measures, and specific measures designed to measure attention. Boone (2009) suggested monitoring continuous effort is essential throughout psychological assessments. However, very few research studies have contributed to malingering literature on the ADHD population. Many studies have reported the adequate use of symptom validity tests, which assess effortful performance in ADHD evaluations (Jasinski et al., 2011; Sollman et al., 2010; Schneider et al., 2014). Because of the length of ADHD assessments, individuals are likely to become weary and tired, thus impacting their performance. This study investigates the eye movement strategies used by a clinical ADHD population, non-ADHD subjects, and malingering simulators when playing a common simple visual search task.

A total of 153 college students participated in this study. To be placed in the ADHD group, a participant must endorse four or more symptoms on the ASRS (N = 37). To be placed in the non-ADHD, participants should have endorsed no ADHD symptoms (N = 43). Participants that did not meet the above criteria for ADHD and not-ADHD were placed in an Indeterminate group and were not included in the analysis. A total of 20 participants were instructed to fake symptoms related to ADHD during the session. A total of twelve Spot the Difference images were used as the visual picture stimuli. Sticky by Tobii Pro (2020) was used for the collection of eye-movement data was utilized. Sticky by Tobii Pro is an online self-service platform that combines online survey questions with an eye-tracking webcam, allowing participants to see images from their home computers.

Results indicated on the participants classified as Malingering had a significantly Visit Count (M = 17.16; SD= 4.99) compared to the ADHD(M = 12.53; SD= 43.92) and not-ADHD groups (M =11.51; SD=3.23). Results also indicated a statistically significant Area Under the Curve (AUC) = .784; SE = .067; p -.003; 95% CI = .652-.916. Optimal cutoffs suggest a Sensitivity of 50% with a False Positive Rate of 10%.

Results indicated that eye-tracking technology could help differentiate simulator malingerers from non-malingerers with ADHD. Eye-tracking research’ relates to a patchwork of fields more diverse than the study of perceptual systems. Due to their close relation to attentional mechanisms, the study’s results can provide an insight into cognitive processes related to malingering performance.

Psychotic disorders are highly heritable, yet the evidence is less clear for subclinical psychosis expression, such as psychotic experiences (PEs). We examined if PEs in parents were associated with PEs in offspring.

As part of the Danish general population Lolland-Falster Health Study, families with youths aged 11–17 years were included. Both children and parents reported PEs according to the Psychotic Like Experiences Questionnaire, counting only ‘definite’ PEs. Parents additionally reported depressive symptoms, anxiety, and mental wellbeing. The associations between parental and child PEs were estimated using generalized estimating equations with an exchangeable correlation structure to account for the clustering of observations within families, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics.

Altogether, 984 youths (mean age 14.3 years [s.d. 2.0]), 700 mothers, and 496 fathers from 766 households completed PEs-questionnaires. Offspring of parents with PEs were at an increased risk of reporting PEs themselves (mothers: adjusted risk ratio (aRR) 2.42, 95% CI 1.73–3.38; fathers: aRR 2.25, 95% CI 1.42–3.59). Other maternal problems (depression, anxiety, and poor mental well-being), but not paternal problems, were also associated with offspring PEs. In multivariate models adjusting for parental problems, PEs, but not other parental problems, were robustly associated with offspring PEs (mothers: aRR 2.25, 95% CI 1.60–3.19; fathers: aRR 2.44, 95% CI 1.50–3.96).

The current findings add novel evidence suggesting that specific psychosis vulnerability in families is expressed at the lower end of the psychosis continuum, underlining the importance of assessing youths’ needs based on psychosis vulnerability broadly within the family systems.

One-third of patients with depression do not respond satisfactorily to treatment, and approximately 20% of all patients treated for depression develop a chronic depression. One approach to more effective treatment of chronic and treatment-resistant depression is to target rumination – an underlying mechanism implicated in the development and maintenance of depression.

The purpose of this uncontrolled group study was to investigate the feasibility of individual rumination-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (RfCBT) for patients with chronic and treatment-resistant depression.

A total of 10 patients with chronic and treatment-resistant depression were offered 12–16 individual sessions of RfCBT. The primary outcome was depressive symptoms as measured by Hamilton Depression Scale at pre-, post- and 3-month follow-up. Secondary symptoms measured included self-reported rumination and worry.

There was a significant reduction in depressive symptoms (p < 0.05), rumination (p < 0.01) and worry (p < 0.5) from pre- to post-treatment. Half of the participants (n = 5) showed significant reliable change on levels of depressive symptoms post-treatment. The reduction in depressive symptoms, rumination and worry were maintained at follow-up.

RfCBT was associated with significant reductions in depressive symptoms in a small sample with chronic and treatment-resistant depression. Despite limitations of being a small uncontrolled study with limited follow-up, these results are promising in a difficult to treat population. RfCBT warrants further systematic evaluation.

Although cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for depression, less than half of patients achieve satisfactory symptom reduction during treatment. Targeting known psychopathological processes such as rumination may increase treatment efficacy. The aim of this study was to test whether adding group rumination-focused CBT (RFCBT) that explicitly targets rumination to routine medical management is superior to adding group CBT to routine medical management in treating major depression.

A total of 131 outpatients with major depression were randomly allocated to 12 sessions group RFCBT v. group CBT, each in addition to routine medical management. The primary outcome was observer-rated symptoms of depression at the end of treatment measured on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Secondary outcomes were rumination at post-treatment and depressive symptoms at 6 months follow-up (Trial registered: NCT02278224).

RFCBT significantly improved observer-rated depressive symptoms (Cohen's d 0.38; 95% CI 0.03–0.73) relative to group CBT at post-treatment on the primary outcome. No post-treatment differences were found in rumination or in depressive symptoms at 6 months follow-up, although these secondary analyses may have been underpowered.

This is the first randomized controlled trial providing evidence of benefits of RFCBT in major depression compared with CBT. Group RFCBT may be a beneficial alternative to group CBT for major depression.

A restricted Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS-6) with the six schizophrenia specific items from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) has been investigated. These six items from the PANSS have recently been found to have both clinical validity and ‘unidimensionality’ in measuring the severity of schizophrenic states. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical validity of the BPRS-6. The secondary objective was to evaluate the ‘unidimensionality’ of the BPRS-6 by an ‘item response theory’ model.

The BPRS-6 was scored independently by two psychiatrists and two psychologists while viewing six open-ended videotaped interviews in patients with a DSM-III diagnosis of schizophrenia. The interviews were conducted by Heinz E. Lehmann, an experienced psychiatrist. They were focused on the psychopathology that contributed most to the ‘severity’ of the patient’s clinical state.

The BPRS-6 with three positive symptoms (delusions, conceptual disorganisation, hallucinations) and three negative symptoms (blunted affect, emotional withdrawal, poverty of speech) was found to be clinically valid and captured the variables that contribute most to the severity of schizophrenia. The BPRS-6 was also found to have acceptable ‘unidimensionality’ (coefficient of homogeneity 0.45) and inter-rater reliability (inter-class-coefficient 0.81).

The BPRS-6 was found to capture the information that translates into the severity of schizophrenia. It has also acceptable psychometric validity.