The Affective Neuroscience View of Autism. Association of Oxytocin Receptor Gene

397 Pages·2016·4.02 MB·English

by  James Reich

1. J Autism Dev Disord. 2015 Jun 28. [Epub ahead of print]
Tracking Social Motivation Systems
Deficits: The Affective Neuroscience View of
Autism.
Carré A1, Chevallier C, Robel L, Barry C, Maria AS, Pouga L, Philippe A, Pinabel F, Berthoz
S.
Author information:
 1Mental Health and Public Health, Inserm, U1178, 75014, Paris, France,
[email protected].
Abstract
Abnormal functioning of primary brain systems that express and modulate basic emotional
drives are increasingly considered to underlie mental disorders including autism spectrum
disorders. We hypothesized that ASD are characterized by disruptions in the primary systems
involved in the motivation for social bonding. Twenty adults with ASD were compared to 20
neurotypical participants on the basis of self-reports and clinical assessments, including the
Social Anhedonia Scale (SAS) and the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS).
ASD diagnosis was related to SAS, as well as to positive (PLAYFULNESS) and negative
(FEAR) ANPS-traits. In the overall sample, levels of autistic traits (AQ) were related to SAS
and PLAYFULNESS. We argue that PLAYFULNESS could be at the root of social bonding
impairments in ASD.
PMID: 26123007 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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2. P LoS One. 2015 Jun 29;10(6):e0131820. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131820. eCollection
2015.
Association of Oxytocin Receptor Gene
(OXTR) rs53576 Polymorphism with
Sociality: A Meta-Analysis.
Li J1, Zhao Y2, Li R3, Broster LS4, Zhou C5, Yang S5.
Author information:
 1College of Education, Dali University, Dali, China.
 2College of Sociology and Psychology, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu,
China.
 3Center for Hormone Advanced Science and Education, Roskamp Institute, Sarasota,
Florida, United States of America; Key Laboratory of Exercise and Health Sciences of
Ministry of Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China.
 4Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United
States of America.
 5Key Laboratory of Exercise and Health Sciences of Ministry of Education, Shanghai
University of Sport, Shanghai, China.
Abstract
A common variant in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR), rs53576, has been broadly linked to
socially related personality traits and behaviors. However, the pattern of published results is
inconsistent. Here, we performed a meta-analysis to comprehensively evaluate the association.
The literature was searched for relevant studies and effect sizes between individuals
homozygous for the G allele (GG) and individuals with A allele carriers (AA/AG).
Specifically, two indices of sociality were evaluated independently: i) general sociality (24
samples, n = 4955), i.e., how an individual responds to other people in general; and ii) close
relationships (15 samples, n = 5262), i.e., how an individual responds to individuals with
closed connections (parent-child or romantic relationship). We found positive association
between the rs53576 polymorphism and general sociality (Cohen's d = 0.11, p = .02); G allele
homozygotes had higher general sociality than the A allele carriers. However, the meta-
analyses did not detect significant genetic association between rs53576 and close relationships
(Cohen's d = 0.01, p = .64). In conclusion, genetic variation in the rs53576 influences general
sociality, which further implies that it is worthy to systematically examine whether the
rs53576 is a valid genetic marker for socially related psychiatric disorders.
PMID: 26121678 [PubMed - in process]
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3. P LoS One. 2015 Jun 26;10(6):e0126170. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126170. eCollection
2015.
The Relationship between Personality
Dimensions and Resiliency to
Environmental Stress in Orange-Winged
Amazon Parrots (Amazona amazonica), as
Indicated by the Development of Abnormal
Behaviors.
Cussen VA1, Mench JA2.
Author information:
 1Center for Animal Welfare, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, United States of
America.
 2Center for Animal Welfare, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, United States of
America; Department of Animal Science, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, United
States of America.
Abstract
Parrots are popular companion animals, but are frequently relinquished because of behavioral
problems, including abnormal repetitive behaviors like feather damaging behavior and
stereotypy. In addition to contributing to pet relinquishment, these behaviors are important as
potential indicators of diminished psychological well-being. While abnormal behaviors are
common in captive animals, their presence and/or severity varies between animals of the same
species that are experiencing the same environmental conditions. Personality differences
could contribute to this observed individual variation, as they are known risk factors for stress
sensitivity and affective disorders in humans. The goal of this study was to assess the
relationship between personality and the development and severity of abnormal behaviors in
captive-bred orange-winged Amazon parrots (Amazona amazonica). We monitored between-
individual behavioral differences in enrichment-reared parrots of known personality types
before, during, and after enrichment deprivation. We predicted that parrots with higher scores
for neurotic-like personality traits would be more susceptible to enrichment deprivation and
develop more abnormal behaviors. Our results partially supported this hypothesis, but also
showed that distinct personality dimensions were related to different forms of abnormal
behavior. While neuroticism-like traits were linked to feather damaging behavior,
extraversion-like traits were negatively related to stereotypic behavior. More extraverted birds
showed resiliency to environmental stress, developing fewer stereotypies during enrichment
deprivation and showing lower levels of these behaviors following re-enrichment. Our data,
together with the results of the few studies conducted on other species, suggest that, as in
humans, certain personality types render individual animals more susceptible or resilient to
environmental stress. Further, this susceptibility/resiliency can have a long-term effect on
behavior, as evidenced by behavioral changes that persisted despite re-enrichment. Ours is the
first study evaluating the relationship between personality dimensions, environment, and
abnormal behaviors in an avian species.
PMCID: PMC4482636 Free Article
PMID: 26114423 [PubMed - in process]
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4. J Clin Psychiatry. 2015 Jun 9. [Epub ahead of print]
Interactions of borderline personality
disorder and anxiety disorders over 10
years.
Keuroghlian AS1, Gunderson JG, Pagano ME, Markowitz JC, Ansell EB, Shea MT, Morey
LC, Sanislow C, Grilo CM, Stout RL, Zanarini MC, McGlashan TH, Skodol AE.
Author information:
 1McLean Hospital, 115 Mill St, M/S 312, Belmont, MA, 02478 [email protected].
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
This report examines the relationship of DSM-IV borderline personality disorder (BPD) to
anxiety disorders using data on the reciprocal effects of improvement or worsening of BPD
and anxiety disorders over the course of 10 years.
METHOD:
We reliably and prospectively assessed borderline patients (n = 164) with DSM-IV-defined
co-occurring generalized anxiety disorder (GAD; n = 42), panic disorder with agoraphobia (n
= 39), panic disorder without agoraphobia (n = 36), social phobia (n = 48), obsessive-
compulsive disorder (OCD; n = 36), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; n = 88)
annually over a period of 10 years between 1997 and 2009. We used proportional hazards
regression analyses to assess the effects of monthly improvement or worsening of BPD and
anxiety disorders on each other's remission and relapse the following month.
RESULTS:
BPD improvement significantly predicted remission of GAD (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.65, P <
.05) and PTSD (HR = 0.57, P < .05), whereas BPD worsening significantly predicted social
phobia relapse (HR = 1.87, P < .05). The course of anxiety disorders did not predict BPD
remission or relapse, except that worsening PTSD significantly predicted BPD relapse (HR =
1.90, P < .05).
CONCLUSIONS:
BPD negatively affects the course of GAD, social phobia, and PTSD. In contrast, the anxiety
disorders, aside from PTSD, had little effect on BPD course. For GAD and social phobia,
whose course BPD unidirectionally influences, we suggest prioritizing treatment for BPD,
whereas BPD should be treated concurrently with panic disorders, OCD, or PTSD. We
discuss state/trait issues in the context of our findings.
© Copyright 2015 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.
PMID: 26114336 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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5. J Psychosom Res. 2015 Jun 14. pii: S0022-3999(15)00465-1. doi:
10.1016/j.jpsychores.2015.06.002. [Epub ahead of print]
Functional (psychogenic) movement
disorders associated with normal scores in
psychological questionnaires: A case control
study.
van der Hoeven RM1, Broersma M2, Pijnenborg GH3, Koops EA2, van Laar T2, Stone J4, van
Beilen M5.
Author information:
 1Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of
Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, Groningen, 9700 RB, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology,
University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; NeuroImaging Center, University
Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands. Electronic
address: [email protected].
 2Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of
Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, Groningen, 9700 RB, the Netherlands; NeuroImaging Center,
University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
 3Department of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of
Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands; Department of Psychotic Disorders, GGZ Drenthe,
Assen, the Netherlands.
 4Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU,
UK.
 5Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of
Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, Groningen, 9700 RB, the Netherlands; NeuroImaging Center,
University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands;
University Center of Psychiatry, Department of Psychotic Disorders and Voices, University
Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands;
Interdisciplinary Center Psychopathology and Emotion Regulation, University Medical Center
Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
Functional movement disorders (FMDs) fall within the broader category called functional
neurological symptom disorder (FNSD). New DSM-5 criteria for FNSD no longer require the
presence of a 'psychological conflict' suggesting that some patients with FMD may not have
obvious psychological comorbidity. We studied patients with FMD in comparison to patients
with a neurological movement disorder (MD) and healthy controls (HC) to identify whether
there is a subgroup of patients with FMD who have normal psychological test scores.
METHODS:
We assessed self-rated measures of depression/anxiety (SCL-90), dissociation and personality
disorder (PDQ-4) in patients attending neurological clinics and healthy controls. The
proportion of patients scoring within normal ranges was determined, and the levels of somatic
and psychological symptoms were compared between the three groups.
RESULTS:
Among the FMD group, 39% (20/51) scored within the normal range for all measures
compared to 38% (13/34) of MD subjects and 89% (47/53) of healthy controls. There were no
differences in overall scores in the SCL-90 and PDQ-4 between FMD and MD patients. FMD
patients also did not differ from controls on a self-rated measure of personality pathology.
CONCLUSION:
Our data show that a substantial proportion of patients with FMD score within the normal
range in psychological questionnaires, lending some support to the new DSM-5 criteria.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
PMID: 26113484 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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6. J Pers Disord. 2015 Jun 25:1-19. [Epub ahead of print]
Emotional Processing, Interaction Process,
and Outcome in Clarification-Oriented
Psychotherapy for Personality Disorders: A
Process-Outcome Analysis.
Kramer U1, Pascual-Leone A2, Rohde KB3, Sachse R4 .
Author information:
 1University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
 2University of Windsor, Canada.
 3University of Bern, Switzerland.
 4Institut für Psychologische Psychotherapie, Bochum, Germany.
Abstract
It is important to understand the change processes involved in psychotherapies for patients
with personality disorders (PDs). One patient process that promises to be useful in relation to
the outcome of psychotherapy is emotional processing. In the present process-outcome
analysis, we examine this question by using a sequential model of emotional processing and
by additionally taking into account a therapist's appropriate responsiveness to a patient's
presentation in clarification-oriented psychotherapy (COP), a humanistic-experiential form of
therapy. The present study involved 39 patients with a range of PDs undergoing COP. Session
25 was assessed as part of the working phase of each therapy by external raters in terms of
emotional processing using the Classification of Affective-Meaning States (CAMS) and in
terms of the overall quality of therapist-patient interaction using the Process-Content-
Relationship Scale (BIBS). Treatment outcome was assessed pre- and post-therapy using the
Global Severity Index (GSI) of the SCL-90-R and the BDI. Results indicate that the good
outcome cases showed more self-compassion, more rejecting anger, and a higher quality of
therapist-patient interaction compared to poorer outcome cases. For good outcome cases,
emotional processing predicted 18% of symptom change at the end of treatment, which was
not found for poor outcome cases. These results are discussed within the framework of an
integrative understanding of emotional processing as an underlying mechanism of change in
COP, and perhaps in other effective therapy approaches for PDs.
PMID: 26111248 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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7. P sychol Health Med. 2015 Jun 25:1-8. [Epub ahead of print]
The relationship between impulsivity and
suicide among rural youths aged 15-35
years: a case-control psychological autopsy
study.
Lin L1, Zhang J, Zhou L, Jiang C.
Author information:
 1a Academy of Psychology and Behavior , Tianjin Normal University , Tianjin , China.
Abstract
In China, the gender ratio of suicide rates did not match the Western patterns, which was
higher for females than males. However, the rural men were at relatively high risk of suicide
in Liaoning province. Impulsivity was an important factor of suicide behaviors, but there was
a lack of studies in China. This research aimed to study the relationship between impulsive
personality traits and suicidal behavior among Chinese rural youths. Suicides were
consecutively sampled from six randomly selected counties in Liaoning Province in China.
Between 2005 and 2007, a total of 162 suicide victims were enrolled in the study along with
162 community controls matched for age, gender, and location. The psychological autopsy
method was used to collect data from informants knowledgeable about the selected suicide
victims and controls. The results showed the suicide victims in the study were more likely to
demonstrate dysfunctional impulsivity and less likely to demonstrate functional impulsivity
compared with the controls. Mental disorders, acute negative life events, and dysfunctional
impulsivity contributed to the risk of suicide; educational and functional impulsivity were
protective factors. Suicide prevention efforts in rural China may address impulsivity.
PMID: 26110614 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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8. N ord J Psychiatry. 2015 Jun 24:1-10. [Epub ahead of print]
Assessment of co-morbidity of adult
separation anxiety in patients with bipolar
disorder.
Tasdemir A1, Tamam L, Keskin N, Evlice YE.
Author information:
 1Ali Tasdemir, Cukurova University Faculty of Medicine Department of Psychiatry , Adana
, Turkey.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this study was to assess the co-morbidity of adult separation anxiety in bipolar
patients and evaluate its effects on the course of disorder and functionality.
METHOD:
A total of 70 patients who have been regularly followed in the Bipolar Disorder Unit were
included in the study. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV - Axis I and Axis II
disorders and demographic form were used. Separation anxiety was investigated by the
Structured Clinical Interview for Separation Anxiety Symptoms (SCI-SAS) and the Hamilton
Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) was filled out by an interviewer. In addition, all patients
completed the Bipolar Disorder Functioning Questionnaire (BDFQ), Separation Anxiety
Symptom Inventory (SASI) and Adult Separation Anxiety Questionnaire (ASA).
RESULTS:
The prevalence rate of co-morbid adult separation anxiety disorder (A-SepAD) was 54% (n =
38) in our sample. Age of onset was in adulthood among 36% of patients with a diagnosis of
A-SepAD and the others (64%) were childhood-onset. Co-morbidity of personality disorders
was more common in bipolar patients with childhood-onset separation anxiety disorder (C-
SepAD). The lifetime prevalence of co-morbidity of specific phobias and number of suicide
attempts were significantly higher in the group with A-SepAD. Functionality loss due to
feeling of stigmatization was higher, and total functionality as measured by the BDFQ was
found to be lower in bipolar patients with A-SepAD.
CONCLUSION:
The results of this study have shown that 54% of bipolar patients had a diagnosis of A-
SepAD. A-SepAD seems to increase the number of suicide attempts and have negative effects
on functionality. A-SepAD should be assessed in regular interviews of patients with bipolar
disorder.
PMID: 26107408 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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9. F ront Psychiatry. 2015 Jun 9;6:87. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00087. eCollection 2015.
The Detrimental Impact of Maladaptive
Personality on Public Mental Health: A
Challenge for Psychiatric Practice.
Hengartner MP1.
Author information:
 1Department of Applied Psychology, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) ,
Zurich , Switzerland.
Abstract
Experts in personality psychology and personality disorders have long emphasized the
pervasive and persistent detrimental impact of maladaptive personality traits on mental health
and functioning. However, in routine psychiatric practice, maladaptive personality is readily
ignored and personality traits are seldom incorporated into clinical guidelines. The aim of this
narrative review is to outline how pervasively personality influences public mental health and
how personality thereby challenges common psychiatric practice. A comprehensive search
and synthesis of the scientific literature demonstrates that maladaptive personality traits and
personality disorders, in particular high neuroticism and negative affectivity, first, are risk
factors for divorce, unemployment, and disability pensioning; second, relate to the prevalence,
incidence, and co-occurrence of common mental disorders; third, impair functioning,
symptom remission, and recovery in co-occurring common mental disorders; and fourth,
predispose to treatment resistance, non-response and poor treatment outcome. In conclusion,
maladaptive personality is not only involved in the development and course of mental
disorders but also predisposes to chronicity and re-occurrence of psychopathology and
reduces the efficacy of psychiatric treatments. The pernicious impact of maladaptive
personality on mental health and functioning demands that careful assessment and thorough
consideration of personality should be compulsory in psychiatric practice.
PMCID: PMC4460874 Free PMC Article
PMID: 26106335 [PubMed]
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10. C ompr Psychiatry. 2015 Jun 3. pii: S0010-440X(15)00091-7. doi:
10.1016/j.comppsych.2015.05.016. [Epub ahead of print]