Risk Factors For Compliance With Command Hallucinations In Psychotic Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$180,290.00
Summary
There is widespread public concern about the danger individuals with schizophrenia or related disorders pose to themselves and to the community. Whilst a number of violence risk factors such as being male, exhibiting hostility, and having a prior history of violence are well established, they are of limited use to clinicians in making management decisions. Our study will investigate a different approach to identify individuals and occasions when a sufferer might require more intensive care or ob ....There is widespread public concern about the danger individuals with schizophrenia or related disorders pose to themselves and to the community. Whilst a number of violence risk factors such as being male, exhibiting hostility, and having a prior history of violence are well established, they are of limited use to clinicians in making management decisions. Our study will investigate a different approach to identify individuals and occasions when a sufferer might require more intensive care or observation. Most individuals with schizophrenia experience auditory hallucinations. Amongst these hallucinations, voices that command the individual to undertake a particular action are common; many of these involve significant potential harm to the hallucinator or to other persons. We will attempt to identify those factors that are associated with an individual obeying command hallucinations. Variables to be examined include the characteristics of the hallucinated voices, and the beliefs of the subject about the power of the voices. Subjects will be interviewed to find out whether they have delusions that are consistent with their hallucinations, whether they suffer from Antisocial Personality Disorder, or are dependent on alcohol or drugs. We will also determine whether subjects who report being raised by authoritarian parents, who are dependent on the approval of others, or who see external factors as determining the occurrence of major events in their lives, are more likely to act on their hallucinations. Two groups of 100 patients will be studied. One group will be representative of people living in the community with schizophrenia. The other group will be people with schizophrenia who have been treated by the State Forensic Psychiatric Services. Statistical models will be developed in order to determine the accuracy with which compliance with command hallucinations can be predicted. These models with also reveal which risk factors are the most important.Read moreRead less
Neural Connectivity In Young People At High Risk Of Developing Psychosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$331,972.00
Summary
This project will investigate whether or not young people at high risk of developing psychosis show irregularities in the connections between different parts of their brain. It will also investigate whether information about a high-risk individual’s brain connectivity can be used to predict a) whether that person will make the transition to psychosis, and b) their clinical prognosis if they do become psychotic.
Modelling The Characteristics And Symptoms In First-episode Psychosis From Baseline To Long-term Follow-up
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$22,257.00
Summary
Relatively little is known about the progression of first-episode psychosis over the longer term. This research will investigate the course and evolution of psychiatric symptoms in over 600 psychotic patients up to 10 years following initial admission. It may be possible to identify groupings of patients with similar patterns of change in symptoms, along with factors underlying different patterns of symptom course, which may help distinguish the fundamental mechanisms underlying psychosis.
Studying The Two Hit Hypothesis Of Psychiatric Illness: Role Of Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$469,553.00
Summary
Early environmental factors may play an important role in the development of psychiatric illnesses, such as schizophrenia and depression. We will study an animal model which combines early developmental stress followed by treatment with a stress hormone or chronic cannabis use in adolescence. We will assess behavioural changes and the role of a growth factor in the brain, BDNF. This wil lead to a better understanding of the role of neurodevelopmental stress in psychiatric disease.
Depression And Risk Of Coronary Heart Disease: A Prospective Study Of Mediating Haemostatic Risk Factors
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$327,625.00
Summary
Growing evidence suggests that depression, anger and anxiety play a role in causing coronary heart disease (CHD) and complicating the outcome in existing CHD. This may occur by effects of these emotions on promoting blood clotting and the stickiness of platelets - the blood cells responsible for blood clotting. This pilot study will follow a group of people with depression but without CHD and a control group over 8 months to compare how the blood clotting profile changes as depression resolves. ....Growing evidence suggests that depression, anger and anxiety play a role in causing coronary heart disease (CHD) and complicating the outcome in existing CHD. This may occur by effects of these emotions on promoting blood clotting and the stickiness of platelets - the blood cells responsible for blood clotting. This pilot study will follow a group of people with depression but without CHD and a control group over 8 months to compare how the blood clotting profile changes as depression resolves. The potential benefits of this research are a better understanding of the links between the common illnesses of depression and CHD that might improve the prevention and treatment of heart disease.Read moreRead less
The Role Of Stress, HPA-axis Dysfunction And CNS Structural And Functional Change In The Development Of Psychosis.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$345,538.00
Summary
This research will further understanding of the processes underlying the development of serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and may lead to the development of strategies to prevent these devastating disorders. Although there have been advances in the management of psychotic disorders in recent years, their underlying causes remain largely unknown. We aim to investigate the potential roles of stress, HPA-axis function and structural and functional brain changes. The neurodevelopmental ....This research will further understanding of the processes underlying the development of serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and may lead to the development of strategies to prevent these devastating disorders. Although there have been advances in the management of psychotic disorders in recent years, their underlying causes remain largely unknown. We aim to investigate the potential roles of stress, HPA-axis function and structural and functional brain changes. The neurodevelopmental model of psychosis suggests that small structural CNS changes occur very early in life conferring a degree of vulnerability on the affected individual. We propose that the psychological and neurobiological processes listed above interact with the pre-existing vulnerability, resulting in the development of psychotic symptoms. This is in line with the stress-vulnerability model of psychosis. We aim to investigate this model by monitoring the level of stress reported by young people at risk of psychosis over 12 months. We will also obtain measures of their biological response to stress by assessing cortisol levels over time and brain structure and functioning will be assessed. By monitoring these processes in the high risk group, we will be able to identify any changes that occur if a psychotic illness develops. This research also has practical applications in the identification of young people at high risk of developing a psychotic disorder, Moreover it will inform the development of medical and psychological strategies aimed at preventing or delaying the onset of schizoprenia and related illnesses in the high risk population.Read moreRead less
Brain And Skin Blood Flow: New Animal Model For Understanding Psychiatric Disorders And Evaluating Psychotropic Agents
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$874,840.00
Summary
We suddenly become pale when we get a fright; cutaneous blood vessels are linked to psychological function. The skin vessel constriction response occurs because special neurochemical pathways in the brain send messages to the spinal cord, and from there messages traverse peripheral sympathetic nerves to constrict the blood vessels in the skin. By measuring skin blood flow in the rabbit ear and the rat tail we have been able to discover the major brain pathway by which the constrict-the-skin-bloo ....We suddenly become pale when we get a fright; cutaneous blood vessels are linked to psychological function. The skin vessel constriction response occurs because special neurochemical pathways in the brain send messages to the spinal cord, and from there messages traverse peripheral sympathetic nerves to constrict the blood vessels in the skin. By measuring skin blood flow in the rabbit ear and the rat tail we have been able to discover the major brain pathway by which the constrict-the-skin-blood-vessels message reaches the spinal cord. The pathway involves the amygdala, a forebrain region important in emotional expression and the raphe nuclei in the medulla oblongata. Drugs which affect psychological function also effect skin blood flow. Ecstasy, the street drug used to induce euphoria also constricts the skin vessels, and, sadly, the body temperature may increase so much that death ensues. Ecstasy vigorously constricts the skin blood vessels in rabbits, and temperature increases. Ecstasy is thought to act on serotonin-containing nerve cells in the brain, releasing serotonin (5-HT) onto special 5-HT2A receptors. Activation of these receptors affects both psychological function and skin blood flow. Modern drugs used to treat schizophrenia, so called atypical antipsychotics like clozapine and olanzapine, are thought to act as antagonists at 5-HT2A receptors in the brain. We were thus very excited when we discovered in our rabbit model that clozapine reverses the skin vasoconstriction induced by ecstasy. This means that we have specific hypotheses concerning the actual brain pathways and neurotransmitters whereby ecstasy and clozapine exert their effects on skin blood flow. Elucidating these pathways in rabbits and rats will provide solid knowledge concerning the mechanism of action of the atypical antipsychotics, and it may well prove possible to use our animal model to predict whether proposed new antipsychotic agents will be therapeutically effective.Read moreRead less
Relationship Between Anterior Cingulate Morphology, Neuronal Integrity And Function In Schizophrenia And OCD
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$312,813.00
Summary
Schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are extremely disabling psychiatric disorders. Both tend to appear in early adulthood and have a number of important similarities. These include problems with planning and organising thoughts, abnormal brain chemistry, and changed function in the same brain region, the anterior cingulate. The anterior cingulate has been known for some time to be involved in emotion, motivation and attention. However, it is now recognised as the interface betw ....Schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are extremely disabling psychiatric disorders. Both tend to appear in early adulthood and have a number of important similarities. These include problems with planning and organising thoughts, abnormal brain chemistry, and changed function in the same brain region, the anterior cingulate. The anterior cingulate has been known for some time to be involved in emotion, motivation and attention. However, it is now recognised as the interface between the emotional, feeling part of the brain and the controlling, thinking part. Many, if not all, of the functions performed by the anterior cingulate are disturbed in both schizophrenia and OCD, meaning that studying this region may provide important clues to the nature of the two illnesses. One important characteristic of the anterior cingulate which has not been considered in previous research is its division into three distinct subregions, each with their own specific function. In particular, there is a cognitive region, which deals with response selection and information processing, and an emotional region, which assesses motivational content and controls emotional learning. Because of the nature of the two disorders we intend to study, we believe that schizophrenia will be associated with more abnormalities of the cognitive region, while OCD will be associated with changes in the emotional region. Another important feature of our research design is that we intend to collect data from the same subjects using four separate brain imaging techniques, which provide information about different levels of brain structure and function. This will allow us to interpret our findings from measures of brain chemistry in the context of our findings of brain function. Hopefully this will help us to clarify the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and OCD, and provide potential ways to assess the effect of different treatment strategies in these illnesses.Read moreRead less
Diabetes And Dementia: Studies With The Fremantle Diabetes Study Cohort.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$315,509.00
Summary
Dementia is an extremely serious condition which affects a large proportion of the older population. Recent evidence has shown that diabetes, which is another common condition in the elderly, doubles the risk of an older person developing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Why this happens is unknown but insulin therapy has been highlighted as a possible cause. As many older people are on insulin for their diabetes, it is extremely important to confirm or refute this finding. It se ....Dementia is an extremely serious condition which affects a large proportion of the older population. Recent evidence has shown that diabetes, which is another common condition in the elderly, doubles the risk of an older person developing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Why this happens is unknown but insulin therapy has been highlighted as a possible cause. As many older people are on insulin for their diabetes, it is extremely important to confirm or refute this finding. It seems possible that insulin may not be the direct cause but that some other associated factor such as poor diabetes control, recurrent hypoglycaemic attacks or cerebrovascular disease causes dementia. On theoretical grounds, Alzheimer's disease may have a vascular basis. If Alzheimer's disease was, in part, caused by vascular disease then there is the potential to prevent cases of dementia developing by paying attention to the known risk factors for vascular disease such as hypertension. The Fremantle Diabetes Study is an ideal group of community living diabetic individuals in which we can study whether some or all of these factors cause Alzheimer's disease or dementia and gain insights into the potential for prevention.Read moreRead less
Schizophrenia is a group of brain disorders that affects approximately 1 in 100 people. The symptoms can include delusions (false beliefs), hallucinations (e.g., hearing voices), blunted emotions, poor planning ability and reduced motivation. Because these disorders often start in early adulthood, and can be chronic, schizophrenia contributes substantially to the burden of disease across the globe. The causes of schizophrenia are poorly understood, but it is clear that both genetic factors and e ....Schizophrenia is a group of brain disorders that affects approximately 1 in 100 people. The symptoms can include delusions (false beliefs), hallucinations (e.g., hearing voices), blunted emotions, poor planning ability and reduced motivation. Because these disorders often start in early adulthood, and can be chronic, schizophrenia contributes substantially to the burden of disease across the globe. The causes of schizophrenia are poorly understood, but it is clear that both genetic factors and environmental factors can contribute to the risk of developing schizophrenia. As part of an integrated program of research searching for novel environmental risk factors for schizophrenia, this application examines the impact of low prenatal vitamin D on brain development. Vitamin D is a steroid hormone mostly derived from the action of bright sunshine on the skin. Our past research (based on population studies, cell culture studies and animal experiments) have provided tantalizing clues about the impact of low prenatal vitamin D on brain development. This project will explore two important areas. We will explore mechanims by which LOW vitamin D may cause LESS programmed cell death (apoptosis). Programmed cell death is a crucial feature in brain development, and any alteration to the orderly sequence of brain development may leave the person vulnerable to adult-onset brain disorders like schizophrenia. Secondly, we will compare the behaviour and brain markers of adult rats born of mothers depleted of vitamin D versus normal mothers. Finally, we will examine the impact of vitamin D on neural tissue cultures obtained from nasal biopsy. If low prenatal vitamin D is a risk factor for schizophrenia, then it may be possible to reduce the incidence of schizophrenia by providing pregnant women with a safe and cheap vitamin tablet (similar to how folate supplements have reduced the incidence of spina bifida) .Read moreRead less