The Holistic Sense of Prison Phenomena in Venezuela. I. Understanding and Comprehending “Schizophrenic” Institutions

This is the first in a series of three papers which report on the results of an interpretive systemic study of the prison system and its reform in Venezuela. After explaining the purpose and contents of the trilogy, this paper proceeds to describe the research process undertaken (following the methodological guidelines of interpretive systemology) to open the scene (or uncover the background) of the distinction of prisons as schizophrenic institutions. The study, as a whole, aims at both illustrating the use of interpretive systemology concepts and helping prison reformers to have a better understanding of the complex social situation they aspire to change.     

急性期治疗对精神分裂症认知功能的影响及与症状变化的相关性

为了探讨精神分裂症患者急性期治疗后认知功能的变化以及与精神症状变化之间的关系。通过收集精神分裂症患者37例,给予利培酮治疗3个月,应用阳性和阴性症状量表(positive and nequtive syndrome scale,PANSS)及精神分裂症认知功能成套测验共识版(MATRICS consesuscognitive battery,MCCB)分别评估患者治疗前后的临床症状及认知功能的方法研究了精神分裂症患者急性期治疗后认知功能的变化以及与精神症状变化之间的关系。结果表明治疗后患者的处理速度(P 0. 01)、工作记忆(P 0. 01)及推理与解决问题能力(P 0. 01)均较治疗前显著性升高,言语学习和记忆、视觉学习和记忆及社会认知功能较治疗前无明显变化;治疗后患者PANSS总分(P 0. 01)、阳性症状评分(P 0. 01)、阴性症状评分(P 0. 01)及一般病理症状评分(P 0. 01)均较治疗前显著降低;治疗后认知功能中处理速度(r=0. 55,P 0. 01)及工作记忆(r=0. 42,P 0. 05)的改善与阴性症状的缓解正相关,与总症状、阳性症状及一般病理症状的改善无相关性,推理与解决问题能力的改善与总症状、阳性症状、阴性症状及一般病理症状的改善均无相关性。可见急性期药物治疗可改善精神分裂症患者认知功能中的处理速度、工作记忆及推理与解决问题能力,处理速度及工作记忆的改善与阴性症状的缓解相关。     

Aneuploidy in the normal and diseased brain

The brain is remarkable for its complex organization and functions, which have been historically assumed to arise from cells with identical genomes. However, recent studies have shown that the brain is in fact a complex genetic mosaic of aneuploid and euploid cells. The precise function of neural aneuploidy and mosaicism are currently being examined on multiple fronts that include contributions to cellular diversity, cellular signaling and diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). Constitutive aneuploidy in genetic diseases has proven roles in brain dysfunction, as observed in Down syndrome (trisomy 21) and mosaic variegated aneuploidy. The existence of aneuploid cells within normal individuals raises the possibility that these cells might have distinct functions in the normal and diseased brain, the latter contributing to sporadic CNS disorders including cancer. Here we review what is known about neural aneuploidy, and offer speculations on its role in diseases of the brain. Received 13 April 2006; received after revision 2 June 2006; accepted 13 July 2006     

Why endophenotype development requires families

Endophenotypes are heritable quantitative traits that are associated with disease liability, can be measured in both affected and unaffected individuals, and provide much greater power to localize and identify risk genes for mental illness than does affection status alone. Traditionally, endophenotypic markers for psychiatric illnesses include in vivo neuroanatomic and functional magnetic resonance imaging measurements and indices of neurocognitive abilities. However, neurocognitive and neuroimaging measure...     

运动疗法对慢性精神分裂症患者社会功能及生活质量的影响

目的探讨运动疗法对慢性精神分裂症生活质量及社会功能的影响.方法选择112例慢性精神分裂症患者,随机分为研究组和对照组,对照组采用抗精神病药物治疗合并精神科基础护理,研究组在此基础上配合运动疗法.采用住院患者观察量表(NOSIE)、住院精神患者社会功能评定量表(SSPI)、精神分裂症患者生活质量量表(SQLS)进行评定,比较两组慢性精神分裂症患者生活质量及社会功能.结果 6个月后,研究组生活质量评分均明显高于对照组.两组患者的NOSIE总分、总积极因素、总消极因素有统计学意义(P<0.01).研究组SSPI的日常生活能力、动情和交往情况、社会活动技能得分均高于对照组.结论运动疗法能够改变慢性精神分裂症患者的社会功能及提高生活质量.     

On the physiology of metazoa

The problem of integration and control of the various processes of the metazoan organism is a major challenge to the physiologist. The traditional research strategy in dealing with the problem is neuron-oriented and its roots extend back into the last century when knowledge of hormones was lacking. In the present article, the traditional strategy is analyzed in the light of available data and its logical basis is questioned. Different levels of communication are supposed to occur in the animal or human body. Circulating hormones are responsible for the highest level of communication that occurs between organs or tissues. The central concept in the article is that regulation of circulating hormones constitutes a higher level of control relative to regulation of intercellular hormones. This is regardless of whether the latter occurs in the nervous system or elsewhere. The approach is utilized in defining the mechanism that integrates and controls the part processes of the body. The mechanism is defined as endothelial; the vascular endothelial system is the controlling part and the nervous system is one of the subordinate parts. Thanks to the new approach, meaningful biological explanations of major psychiatric disorders are now possible.     

Is there an anatomical endophenotype for neurodevelopmental disorders？ A review of dual disorder anatomical likelihood estimation （ALE） meta-analyses of grey matter volumes

The term neurodevelopmental disorder broadly encompasses conditions thought to arise early in development and includes schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism among others. These conditions share a number of genetic and environmental risk factors postulated to lead to common difficulties in socio-emotional processing, communication and cognitive function. The alternative position is that, while the same traits are affected across these conditions, the nature or direction in which they are modified may be distinct. MRI studies provide a rapidly expanding and rich database which we propose can be used to contribute to this debate. Anatomical likelihood estimation (ALE) is a method of meta-analysis applied to voxel-based MRI studies. We have adapted this method to explore the extent to which schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and autism share a common brain structural phenotype. We will review this work here and discuss whether there is sufficient other evidence to justify a common framework for further research into the inter-relatedness of such conditions.     

Pathway-based analysis for genome-wide association studies of schizophrenia to provide new insight in schizophrenia study

Schizophrenia (SZ) is an inheritable complex mental disease. There have been several genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of SZ to identify novel genetic susceptibility factors. To further interpret SZ GWASs, pathway-based analysis (PBA), which considers the combined effect of variants and identifies pathways associated with traits, provides a feasible solution to discover the biological function and mechanism of SZ. Furthermore, to investigate the common pathways between SZ and bipolar disorder (BD) wil...     

The right neuron at the wrong place: biology of heterotopic neurons in cortical neuronal migration disorders, with special reference to associated pathologies

During the development of the neocortex, neurogenesis and neuronal differentiation occur in two separate locations. Thus neurons have to migrate through the future white matter. Arrested or excessive migration leads neurons to differentiate in a heterotopic position. Such neuronal migration disorders (NMDs) occur sporadically in normal development but are markedly increased as a consequence of genetic defects or after exposure to toxic drugs during the period of migration. Anatomofunctional studies in rodents with NMDs have revealed that heterotopic neurons form essentially normal afferent and efferentconnections, which has been interpreted as evidence that the connectionpattern of cortical neurons is specified prior to migration. In addition, recent data show that heterotopic neurons can be contacted by environmental, that is local, fibres that normally never innervate the neocortex. This dual connectivity leads heterotopias to form bridges between their environmental and original network. Such an abnormal pattern of connectivity could contribute to the pathophysiology of disorders associated with NMDs such as epilepsy. Received 16 December 1998; received after revision 5 February 1999; accepted 9 February 1999     

Impaired auditory sensorimotor gating： An animal model of schizophrenia

Establishment of animal models of schizophrenia is critical for both understanding the mechanisms underlying this severe mental disease and developing new antipsychotics. This paper starts from the theoretical root of sensory gating, the 損rotection-of-processing? theory, then thoroughly describes the representative studies over the past decade on the mechanism underlying prepulse inhibition and on those underlying modulation of prepulse inhibition, which is the normal startle suppression caused by the weak stimulus preceding the intense startling stimulus. The main methods for inducing prepulse inhibition deficits in experimental animals include: ⅰ) modulations of neuro- transmission that are closely associated with schizophrenia; ⅱ) focal lesions or pharmacological manipulations of brain structures in the cortico-striato-pallido-pontine circuit; and ⅲ) maternal deprivation or social isolation. Six essential topics for studies in modeling schizophrenia are suggested at the last part of this review.